No Longer Little
by Alaer Kino
Summary: This is a ficcy based during YGO GX series 10 yrs after the end of YGO. Anzu Tea and Yugi all grown up looking at last explore their love relationship and both experience turmoil along the way. New Ch.7 is up!
1. Rekindle that old Relationship

No Longer Little Ch.1

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All Yu-Gi-Oh! characters are copyright of Kazuki Takahashi and Konami.

Author Note: This is a sweet romantic-ish ficcy of Yugi and Anzu (Tea). Anzu goes to New York to start her dancing career but doesn't make it. She falls on hard times with depression and is forced to become a stripper instead to support herself. Too ashamed to contact her friends from high school, she is alone until Yugi finds her about ten years later. No longer is he a "Little Yugi" but rather a Yugi that is like Yami Yugi though even better since he surpassed him years before (see last episodes of the anime and manga). A great ficcy for those who love hetero hardcore romance and Yugi X Anzu lemon stuffs. :) R/R, please no flames! If you don't like Anzu or Yugi, just don't read this then. I don't want hateful reviews / flames from those who don't even like these characters.  
Also see the fic scene fanart piccys for this fic series at my website http:www. and http:alaer. (remove the spaces) Enjoy!

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No Longer Little

Chapter 1

Anzu wearily went to her car after another hard night at the Stripes night club. She was glad it was paycheck day, she needed the money to pay her rent. She growled. Her dumb boss tried to get her to go to his place again. He promised a big raise if she did, but she'd rather die before doing anything with that diseased fool. So he lowered her pay on purpose to make her give in, like he did to the other girls that worked there. Only Anzu and Sally were the ones who didn't give in to him. Things were so unfair! Anzu was too embarrassed to contact her friends back in Japan. What would they think of her now?

Back then, Yugi dueled with Yami Yugi aka Pharaoh Atemu and Yugi won, causing Atemu to leave into the world of death. Though it sounds bad, it was what had to be done. Atemu was lost in limbo and finally was freed to wander no more. Anzu loved Atemu and missed him terribly. The sound of his voice was so appealing to her. It was the first thing about him that she had fallen in love with. But he was gone forever and she felt so alone. She felt as if little Yugi was to blame, but she told no one this and left as soon as she could to the states to clear her mind of such things. Unfortunately things only got worse from there on. She couldn't break through to get into a dancing career and had to accept a stripper job several miles away from her apartment. She was so depressed and angry. She still blamed Yugi for all her misfortunes although it shamed her and she knew she was wrong for thinking that way all these years. She couldn't help it though. 'Some friend he turned out to be,' she thought to herself as she shoved the key into her car door's lock. It got stuck again as usual and she fought with it.

"Hey chickie, need some help with that?" asked a sly voice. Anzu turned to see a man hiding something in his pocket. "No. Go away, tramp." she snapped, unable to free her key from the lock. The man frowned and grabbed her arm. "That's some big talk coming from a slut like you." he growled. "Let go of me!" Anzu yelled, about to kick the jerk in the groin.

"Get away from her!" a deep voice commanded. Anzu was stunned, unable to believe her ears. That voice sounded kinda like Atemu's! She looked and felt weak in the knees when she saw him in the dim light. It was Atemu! But how could that be?

The man growled. "What's this whore to you?" The spiky haired bishie frowned. "She's my friend. I don't take kindly to 'people' who call my friends names. So let her go if you know what's good for you." Then the man saw the shiny metal of a gun's barrel. Knowing he only had a knife as a weapon, he cowardly took Anzu into a choke-hold with the knife at her throat. "Okay, tough guy! If you really want me to let her go, then cough up some cash!"

Anzu jammed her high heel down on the guy's foot, causing him to scream in pain and release her. But he did manage to cut her arm. Luckily it was a small cut and not deep. As she hurried away from the jerk, a shot rang out. The bullet missed the guy's head by half an inch. He yelped in shock and surprise. "Whoa, man! I'm gettin' outta here!" He cowardly made a hasty retreat into the darkness.

"Anzu!" She examined her cut and deemed it nothing to fret about. Soon she felt him holding her close and trying to help her. "I finally found you!" he said, pulling his shirt off to use as a bandage for her cut arm. He worried for her greatly, even though the cut wasn't that bad. Anzu finally realized it was only Yugi, not Atemu, and felt dismayed. She couldn't even bring herself to look at him, she was so beyond embarrassed it was stressful.

"Why didn't you call or write all these years, Anzu?" he asked, helping her into her car. He then got in on the driver's side. She couldn't get over how much his voice sounded like Atemu's, it was making her upset. It was like Atemu came back, but she knew he wasn't him. She felt confused and hurt. She ached for Atemu, not Yugi. But he seemed so much like Atemu now. She glanced at him quickly. He looked very different than he did years before. He was somewhat taller and no longer had that cutie 'baby Yugi' look. Without a shirt, she had noticed his muscles and strong chest, things she hardly saw before. No matter how sexy he appeared, she couldn't bring herself to forgive him for sending Atemu away which made her run away to New York to only become a loser in the end. She was stuck in self-pity.

"Anzu, didn't you hear me? I asked why-" Yugi started to say, but she cut him off. "I-I couldn't...!" she choked out. Yugi looked away. "I'm sorry." he said softly, feeling bad for her. "I just want to go home." she said, fighting back tears. Yugi nodded and tried to start the car, but it wouldn't. He tried over and over, but it wouldn't start for anything. Anzu was embarrassed all over again.

Yugi got out of the car and went around to help Anzu out. "Come with me. My car is nearby." he said, holding her close again. He walked her through the small parking lot to his car when she figured out something. "Hey, what are you doing here anyway?" she asked. Yugi grinned sheepishly. "Um, yeah, well...I-er..."

Anzu shook her head. "Still the same pervert, are we?" she asked, feeling a little better. The shock was finally wearing off. She did want to forgive him, but she was too hurt to do so right away. Deep down inside she knew none of it was his fault, but she felt as if she had to blame someone other than herself. Yugi laughed, a very sweet sexy laugh that intrigued Anzu. "Well, yes, I suppose. But seriously, Anzu. You should have stayed in touch. If I knew you would have ended up in a place like this, I would have never let you leave." he said, his voice perfectly deep, yet whispery. It was like his voice was mixed with Atemu's, creating feathery bass. Anzu felt herself slowly falling in love with this voice... But she didn't want to. She wanted Atemu and he wasn't him.

Unable to reply, she hid her face into his bare chest and let go her emotions. She felt his strong arms wrapped around her instantly as she cried. Involuntarily, she imagined he was Atemu and suddenly felt secure. She began to spill her heart out about her troubles she endured for years. Everything about the horrid conditions in the strip club, her rotten unfair boss, her landlord's creepy son that was trying to get her to go out with him, and her stupid car that never wanted to unlock or start. Yugi consoled her the whole time and reassured her that all her troubles were over. He would care for her from now on.

Anzu kept her eyes closed in humiliation as he wiped her tears away. They got into Yugi's shiny black sports car, which impressed Anzu very much. It had a high spoiler, chrome hub cabs, a sun roof, all the options, and it was even a convertible! She realized that Yugi must have some sort of high paying job to afford such a car.

"Anzu, I want you to quit that 'job' at that nightclub. You don't have to suffer anymore." he told her as he drove out of the parking lot. "Thank you..." she answered, feeling pretty low. For years she blamed him for her troubles and now he was here erasing them for her because he wanted to help her. What did she have to offer him in return? Bad sour feelings? Selfishness? Scorn for him because he had Atemu banished? She was unsure of herself more than ever now, even more than when she first became a stripper. "Kaiba-kun gave me a job a few months after you left." Yugi went on, seeing that she was wondering how he could get such a car he was driving now. "Really?" she squeaked. Surely Yugi was loaded then! Again she felt low for thinking of his money. She mustn't be like that...but she couldn't help it. She had been living in poverty for so long that she was pretty much desperate for money.

"Yes. He pays me to stay as his prize duelist for his students year after year." Yugi said, heading in the opposite direction of her apartment. Anzu didn't care, she hated that apartment. She spent many miserable years there with roaches and idiot loud people. "Students? Oh yeah. I think I remember reading about his dueling schools. Does he have any here?" she asked, taking long glances at his strong topless frame. Whew, he sure is sexy!

"Un, he does. I'm here for that reason. Kaiba-kun's students strive to do well so they can duel me. They have to pay to stay in his school, so that's how he's making money there. He gives me a share of those profits, even though I told him I'd help him for free. He insisted that I must be paid, because he doesn't want to owe me any favors later. But soon I think I'll retire. I love playing Duel Monsters, but I want to be like Grandpa. I want to take care of his game shop and go back to Egypt too. I want to see his tomb again. I miss him..." Yugi said, a hint of sadness in his voice. It was very hard to go on without his aibou. He hated himself for winning that duel against Atemu. He wanted to keep him within himself forever, but he knew he couldn't be selfish like that. He hated himself even more for being pleased that he finally caught up with his aibou and even surpassed him. Anzu's eyes widened. "Do you think we can make him come back?" she asked eagerly. A little too eagerly. Yugi looked at her quickly and she saw the immense sorrow.

"I know you still love him, Anzu..." Yugi replied, slight hurt in his voice. He began to whisper to himself, but she could still hear him. "...But I always wonder...why not me? Am I not good enough still...? What am I doing wrong?"

She swallowed hard. "I-I..." she stammered, unable to think of a good answer. Yugi pulled the car up into a parking lot at a fancy hotel. He parked it and turned the car off. "Anzu... I have always liked you... So very much. Ever since high school, I've admired you... You never returned my feelings, except when aibou came into our lives. But those feelings you showed were for him, not for me. I'm sorry I'm not him, Anzu. I wish I was him, then I would have you..." he admitted, staring sadly at the steering wheel. Anzu's throat felt tight, still she was not able to give him a comforting answer. She saw two tears drip off his cheeks and she then felt like a real heel. She had to say something! This was not right!

"Y-Yugi, I like you... Really, I do..." she said, feeling strange. This wasn't totally true. She was beginning to like him more but only because he sounded like Atemu and appeared more adult-looking at last. Yugi wiped his eyes and smiled gently. "Don't lie, Anzu. It doesn't suit you." he whispered and got out of the car. She really felt unsure then. How did he know she was lying? Of course, no wonder. They were friends ever since they were little. He knew how she thought, though she never was sure how he thought. Especially since Atemu was part of him, it was extra hard to figure him out. But even now without him, Yugi was just as hard to figure out. Maybe even harder.

"No, Yugi! Really, I care about you, I do!" she cried. He opened her door and she got out, insistent to let him know. "You're my friend, Yugi! My...best friend..." That was no lie. He was her best friend, even though she was kinda detesting him these many past years for selfish reasons. Yugi held her chin tenderly, deep affection in his purple eyes. He brought his face close to hers, close enough that their lips almost touched. "Anzu, I want us to be more than just that... Please..." he said so softly that it seemed he was only mouthing the words, unable to speak them out loud. She closed her eyes, feeling overwhelmed. The very second she shut her eyes, she felt his lips on hers. Incredible passion flowed from his kisses, strong desire, that was held back for years, pulsated through her. She found herself swimming her fingers through his raven black spikes tipped with magenta. Soon she was leaning back on the car, his powerful body pressing up against her curvy body. Momentarily, his swelled hard groin rubbed upon hers. It was quite a turn on. She couldn't believe she was getting aroused from Yugi!

"Anzu...I've really missed you..." he purred, nuzzling and kissing. He couldn't hold back his feelings. He wanted her for so long, he just had to really show her how he felt. Her responses were good, making him feel very hopeful. He could make her his. Surely, he had a better chance now than he ever did before. Atemu must have rubbed off on him. He looked more like him and sounded a lot like him, adding to Yugi's confidence. "Please, let's be more than friends..." he said quite sexily as he nibbled her earlobe and teased her left breast, all which excited Anzu fairly well. "Oh, Yugi...! Uhhh! You're such a horny perv...!" she moaned, liking his advances. Her words were harsh, but her tone was lustful. "Such a dirty perv... Ahhh-uhhh..."

Yugi let his fingers do the talking, suppressing his moans so he could hear hers. These sweet sounds of pleasure were meant for him and he wanted to savor each gasp, every groan. From time to time, he whispered his hot lust close to her ear followed either by a lick or kiss, sometimes both. It was not too long before he had her hips bucking hard and reluctantly cooled things down. He felt bad trying to get her to like him through sexual means, but he wasn't real sure how to get her to like him other than starting that way. He would make sure their relationship was not based only on sex. He would and could prove himself to her and get her to desire him on her free will like how he always wished for. It was his goal since high school and he would achieve it!

"Let's go inside my hotel room before we continue. That is if you want to, Anzu." he said, blushing and grinning. He couldn't believe himself. He got her to desire him so quickly, that was cool! Anzu smiled and gently swapped the back of his head playfully. "After fondling me like that, of course I want to continue! You sexy pervert, hehee! Yugi, you always find ways to cheer me up. I guess we can be more than friends, hehee..." she said, blushing back. If Atemu never existed, would she have liked Yugi as a boyfriend? She figured probably. 'I mustn't be selfish. It's not Yugi's fault for any of my problems. I gotta stop being a big baby and give him a chance. He's pretty cute and sexy now, how can I not give him a chance?' she thought as she rubbed her aroused hard nipples through her thin clothes. Without thinking, she imagined Yugi's mouth working on her teats and how good it would feel... "Mmm-ahhh-ooohhhh..." she groaned, still caressing her breasts.

Yugi pushed her up against the car, his hands cupping her breasts. "Save some of that for me in the hotel, Anzu..." he purred, giving each thick globe a strong loving squeeze. Hot gasps escaped her instantly. 'I'll attract you to me, Anzu... By any means, I will have you as my own...' he thought, giving her nipples gentle twists. As she was dazed from the blazing pleasure, Yugi slipped a gold ring on her finger quickly and then quickly opened his trunk for a shirt for him and her. He didn't want other men getting any ideas by seeing her in those thin see-through clothes and the hotel required people to be fully clothed to enter.

Anzu immensely loved having her breasts toyed with especially when she actually got to enjoy it. Her panties were close to soaking wet and she needed relief, but what did he put on her finger? The ruby and diamond jewels glared up at her sitting in their golden beds in the ring. She was shocked! Would he dare ask her to marry him so fast like that? It was sad that Anzu thought only marriage was a huge commitment, but sex was not when both were very big commitments.

"Yugi, I-..." she began, but he gave her a smile and heavy sweatshirt. "No pressure. Just think about it for as long as you need to, Anzu." he said cheerfully, pulling on a tight spandex shirt. She stared at the shirt he gave her for a moment and then put it on. When they entered Yugi's hotel room, she knew if she did marry him, she'd never have to worry about money ever again. She instantly made up her mind. No way was she going back to roach-filled apartments nor that stripping job ever again. She nervously fiddled with the ring on her left ring finger. "Yugi...?" she asked as she watched him take off his boots. "Yes, Anzu?" He looked up at her. She held her left hand over her heart and covered it with her right hand. "I want to marry you."

Yugi's eyes widened in surprise, then he looked sad. "For what reasons?" he asked carefully, testing her. Anzu was blown away with confusion and slight anger. "Um, 'cuz I think I really like you now? How's that?" she said rather meanly. Yugi looked down. "Anzu, I know you. You want out of that rotten life you have and the only way to do that would be staying with me. I can't blame you for wanting that. I'd do the same if I were you. Don't get upset and don't try to butter things up for me. What happened to the Anzu I knew before she left Japan?" His pretty purple eyes gave her a concerned, yet loving stare. It made her forget her anger, but her confusion remained. "Huh? I'm still the same." she said. Yugi shook his head, long golden bangs swaying. "No, this city has changed you. You're more defensive and not as open as you were before. You've lost your smile. You lie and you never used to lie to me."

Anzu stood there, feeling more baffled every passing second. All these years in New York had changed her, she could see it now. She lost her happy-go-lucky attitude and was acting even more mean than Mai. She looked down at herself and then looked at Yugi. His eyes softened to an even more loving gaze. "Don't worry. I love you for who you are, Anzu." he said, holding his arms out inviting her for a hug. Suddenly she finally saw him for who he really was. Not the person who got rid of Atemu, but someone who had no choice in letting him go.

"Yugi!" she cried and rushed to him. Hugging him tightly, she felt like she was reunited with him again. Playfully, he slipped his hand underneath the sweatshirt and tweaked a softening nipple. It perked up within seconds, retaining its hardness once again. "Let's continue where we left off, Anzu..." he whispered, his gentle kisses returning. "Uhhh, ohhh, Yugi..." she moaned, pulling off both the sweatshirt and her thin clothes then. Since her boss made all his girls not wear bras, Anzu's breasts sprang out before Yugi's waiting mouth. Deep pleasure rushed over her as his tongue washed each of her firm rubbery nipples, first licking then pumping them in and out.

Yugi learned the fastest way to turn her on was through her sensitive breasts. Slipping her pants and panties off, Anzu allowed him to explore her slippery wet vaginal region with his slender fingers. It wasn't difficult for him to slide in two fingers instantly. Her hips bucked in rhythm with his hand, not missing a beat as he pushed in two more fingers into the shiny organ. Bubbles began to form from her juices as they leaked beautifully out. "Ohhh-uhh! Ahh-ahhh! Ohh-ooohhhhh! Yuugggeeee...! Oh-oh-ahhh-ah-ah! Ohhh pleeease! Oh-oh! Take me! Take me!" she howled, thrusting harder as he rammed his fingers in deeper. "Shhh-shhh, Anzu... Ahhh, mmm... Not so loud..." he moaned, barely able to restrain himself from tearing his leather pants off and diving between her legs.

"Uhhh, ohhh... O-okay, Yugi... Ahhh! Mmmmm... Ohh yesss... Oh yes, yes, yes!" Anzu couldn't help moaning with great joy. Yugi laughed, rubbing her clitoris lovingly. He smiled at her pleasure pained expressions. As soon as his pants were pulled off and his prize manhood exposed, Anzu spread her legs quickly. She pulled aside her vaginal wings and eagerly waited for him to enter. He was so thick and hot and strong, that she nearly passed out. They kissed with hot desire as their hips pumped with powerful passion. Anzu's moans and high-pitched squeals drove Yugi mad with lust, his penis pounded into her harder and harder. The hotel bed shook with great vibration.

"Uhhh-uhhh! Uhh-uhh! Ahhhh-ahhhh! Oooohhhh! AHHHH-AHHHH!" Anzu moaned quite loudly as she felt herself losing it and orgasming hard. "Errruhhhh! Uhhh-ahhh! Ahh-ahhh...! Uhhh..!" Yugi struggled to mute himself, but he could not hold back his pleasure either as he too spilled. White thick sperm flowed out seconds later, spilling down onto the bed sheets. The wonderful release relieved much tension for them both. Yugi thrusted himself in and out of her several more times before finally freeing his seven inch long glistening penis from her tight suckling cavern.

Anzu sighed happily, running her hand over her sweating swelling breasts and jiggling her clitoris with her other hand, enjoying the last bits of left over pleasure. Yugi caught his breath first before he stretched luxuriously. "Mmm-mmm... That was pretty fun, huh?" he asked, playfully. His fingers danced over her rigid pink nipples, causing her to reach down and grab his thick penis. "Hehee, yeah... I bet this will be even more fun..." she purred, a naughty gleam in her eye. Yugi watched, pretending to be naive. "What are you doing?" he teased, sounding innocent and unsure on purpose. Anzu tugged his manhood. "Oh Yugi, you're so bad. Come and position yourself over top of me and I'll give you a nice surprise." she said, winking.

In about two seconds, Yugi was straddling near her chest. Anzu layed his hot penis in the center of her chest and then pushed her breasts together, trapping his long organ between the heavy orbs of flesh and fat. She licked her hand, making sure it was good and wet before oiling his penis with her saliva. Smiling, Yugi began to do the same and pumped happily. "Ohhh, yeaahhh, mmmm! Ohhh, Anzu... Ahhhh..." he purred, feeling her tightly packed breasts. The whole breasts sex thing felt quite nice, especially when Anzu's tongue touched the tip of his manhood each time it reached her lips. Soon, his swelling pole was disappearing into her mouth as she sucked him happily. 'I rather be sucking Yugi than some jerk off from the street.' she thought, feeling rather proud at how well she was able to make him moan. It wasn't too long until he was aroused enough for round two and easily penetrated her again.

"Ahhh-ohhh, Yugi..! Ohh-ohhh-ahhh! Uhhh-UHHH-oooohhhhh, yessss...! Oh yes, again, ohhh please! Uhh-uhh, ahhh! Ohh, don't ever stop...!" She was still slopping wet, her own juices made for great lubrication. She thought his balls slapping against her felt rather interesting. Yugi felt like he was flying in and out of her with great ease due to her slippery nectar. It was such a good feeling... Her scent was so delicious, how he wanted to bottle that scent to keep... "Uhh-uhhh, ahhh-ahhh, mmmm... Oh yes...yes... Ohh man...! Ahh-ahhh..." Holding her breasts tightly together, Yugi's tongue whipped back and forth, giving each nipple its fair share of wet caresses. In turn, such actions made Anzu extremely salacious and soon met him thrust for thrust. The second release was short-lived, but very satisfying.

Gentle romantic kissing brought an end to a long desired fump fest. Anzu's vagina felt fulfilled at last. She could never achieve this wonderful awesome feeling with her fingers and toys alone. Yugi's very nice jumbo sized penis pleasured her greatly. She closed her eyes and savored the sweet feeling between her legs for a few moments. She squeezed her fingers in her tightly closed legs, pressing against her sensitive wet nub. Her clitoris sent waves of sexual pleasure throughout her body as she grazed her fingernails over it. Yugi watched with much interest. "I don't think I can get enough of you, Anzu..." he purred, lightly rubbing his fingers up and down her arm. Smiling happily, she pulled her hand free and to her surprise, Yugi took her wet fingers to his lips. He breathed in her scent, his eyes showing her his everlasting passionate lust for her. Then he lewdly licked her juices from her fingers. She was awe-struck by such behavior. The way he looked at her...it was EXACTLY how Atemu stared down anyone who dared to challenge his gaze. That animalistic licking was something Bakura would do and something she secretly liked. "Anzu..." he said, his eyes still looking at her like how Atemu would. "Hm?"

"I've always wanted to express myself to you like this years ago, but you left so quickly, I never got a chance. I'm wondering if I have yet captured your heart..." His purple eyes were incredible, she felt so meek. She felt that same melting feeling she had experienced many times with Atemu, wash over her suddenly from his strong gaze. He came closer and released her hand so he could dab her skin with more kisses. "Tell me... Have I?..." She blushed hard and shied away. He was just too much, even more so than Atemu!

"I think you have..." Anzu replied, unable to look at him. She felt pretty bashful then. This was Little Yugi for crying out loud! No, he wasn't little anymore. He was a beautiful handsome grown man that loved her for years. And she was beginning to love him back...

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Bright sunlight shone down on Yugi, making him open his eyes. He instantly remembered the night before. The best night of his life. He won over Anzu pretty well. At least, he hoped so. He gently kissed her forehead and climbed out of bed. He pulled on some boxers and headed over to the window. The view was nice, overlooking the city and he could see many parks with lovely trees off in the distance. Even though he didn't have the Millennium Puzzle around his neck, he reached for it. Feeling nothing as usual, he sighed. He had to get that puzzle back. It took him eight years putting that thing together and now it was gone forever. He closed his eyes in longing, a hurt expression on his handsome face. 'Aibou... My friend... My wonderful perfect friend who helped me get so many friends... I wish I could see you again...Atemu.'

"Yugi?" Anzu's sleepy voice jarred him from his thoughts. "Ah. Good morning, Anzu." he greeted her, turning with a smile. "Did you sleep well last night?" She smiled back at him. "Yes I did. My dumb old apartment has this bed with a bar in the middle that never lets me sleep. Thank you for getting me out that place, Yugi."

Yugi looked at her with much concern. "I can't believe you had to suffer for so long. I wish you had called me or something. I would have helped. Jounouchi-kun and Honda-kun would have too." he said, shaking his head. Anzu turned her head away in shame. "I-I was...kinda...sorta... mad at you, Yugi...That's why I didn't call or write..." she admitted, feeling she should come clean with him. Yugi looked almost horrified knowing this. "Mad...? At me? Why?" he asked, that sweet feathery husky tone gracing the air. She made herself look him straight in the eye. "Because I felt as if you made Atemu leave us! I know I was wrong for being angry with you, but I was. I was stupid and an idiot for blaming you. You didn't want him to go away, just like the rest of us. But it was for the best..." she said, breaking into sobs. Yugi went to her and hugged her.

"I know. I didn't want to make him go either, but it really was for the best. He's finally free and doesn't have to wander anymore. He doesn't have to wonder who he is or not know his name. We helped him and made him happy. We should be glad for that much." Yugi let Anzu grip his arms as she looked into his purple eyes. "But can't we see how he's doing? Like talk to him or something?" For some reason, Yugi became annoyed. He loved Atemu deeply, but when he realized he wasn't him, he no longer wanted to share Anzu with him. He was long gone and still he somehow took over what Yugi knew belonged to him. Not like Anzu was property, but he wanted her for himself. Wasn't there a way to get her to forget about him?

Yugi sighed. Normally, when he was a Little Yugi, he would cower away whenever Anzu drooled over his aibou. But now, that cowering feeling was replaced with annoyance. "I don't know, Anzu. Don't worry about it." he replied, giving her a kiss to hide his irritation. They made faces then. "Bleh, you got morning breath!" they both said at the same time. Laughing, they hugged. "I guess we better get washed up before we go." Yugi said, standing and heading towards the private bathroom attached to the hotel room. Anzu was clueless. "Go? Go where?"

"To your apartment and get your things. Unless you want to wear my black leather and spandex, I guess that's okay too... Purrr!" Yugi winked at her. Anzu threw a pillow at him, giggling. "You perv!" she cried, then realized that if she went to get her things, that freaky landlord's son might see them. 'Maybe he's not there now or something.' she hoped. Getting washed up was over before she knew it and made her feel unhappy. She kinda wanted to just get her things herself, so Yugi wouldn't have to see the roaches and that freak. She began to hint it, but he refused. "Oh no, I'm not letting you go back to those horrible places alone. Have you been listening to the news lately? There's some serial killer on the loose, I heard about it yesterday. No, you're not going by yourself." he said with such authority that she immediately gave up that idea fast.

She kept on praying that her landlord's crazy son, Kevin, wouldn't be there as Yugi drove to her apartment. Once they got there, Anzu wanted to get in and out as soon as possible. She felt bad seeing Yugi dodging roaches flying about and swatting at them to keep them away from his perfectly styled hair. She opened the door to her apartment and began rushing about, gathering her things. Yugi seemed to be examining the mold growing on all the walls. So far so good. No Kevin in sight.

As she finished stuffing her clothes and things into a suitcase that Yugi gave her, she practically raced out of there. Yugi followed and watched her lock the door. Then to Anzu's horror, she heard him. "Anzu-sweetie! There you are! I didn't see you around last night. Mother and I were wondering about you." Kevin said, grinning as he made a grab for her rump. She jumped out of his reach. Kevin then he noticed Yugi.

"Hey, you ain't allowed to bring anyone here!" he said very loudly. Anzu grit her teeth. "I'm leaving, Kevin. Tell your mom that. Let's go, Yugi." The pretty bishie was glaring at Kevin with hostility. "Yes, this place and present company are rather unpleasant." he said, staring down the freak. Kevin glared back, not backing down. He didn't want to believe the girl he was eyeing for years was suddenly going away just like that! And this new guy, well, he would have to do something about him.

"Anzu-baby, you can't leave! You have nowhere to go!" Kevin protested, following them outside. "Yes, I do. Get a clue, Kevin. I'm getting out of your mom's dump and that's that. The end." she answered, letting Yugi help her get into his car. Kevin narrowed his eyes. "So punk, you think you can just swing down here and steal my woman?" he growled, getting close to Yugi so he could fight him. Yugi normally would ignore such a loser, but his male instincts were telling him to fight and kill. He wasn't so much against violence anymore. Anzu had told him all the torment this moron had given her for years, so Yugi knew that this Kevin had to be punished.

"She never was yours to begin with, fool. I've known her all my life and she's my lady. She's told me what turmoil you've given her and I don't take kindly to that. I suggest you back off." Yugi sneered, his glare rivaling Atemu's rageful stares. Kevin scoffed and actually backed away. Yugi turned to go to the driver's side of the car when Kevin tackled him from behind. "Yugi! No! Kevin, you jerk! Get off of him, you monster!" Anzu roared, jumping out of the car. The two bucks fought, punching and kicking. Anzu used her purse to whack Kevin when she could, which aided Yugi to punch the moron hard enough to make him retreat. Kevin stumbled toward the building and leaned against the wall as Yugi gained standing support from Anzu.

"This ain't over! Not by a long shot, this fing ain't over!" Kevin screamed, bleeding from the nose and mouth. Yugi wiped the blood from his chin and grinned, surprising Anzu. "Yes it is. I won and you lost. Anzu's at my side, not yours."

Kevin sneered. "She won't be for long! I've had my eye on her ever since she moved in! That was three years ago too!" he yelled, his fists shaking. Yugi hmph'ed. "I've had _my_ eyes on Anzu for a lot longer than you. Over ten years ago I vowed to make her mine and I finally have! I won't allow someone as low as you to annoy me with your feeble attempts to change that! Things are staying the way they are and that's _**it**_!"

Kevin ground his teeth, growling. Anzu glared at him. "Kevin, will you just take a hike? I don't like you. I never liked you, you sicko! I'm with Yugi now and we're very happy together! So, stop being a jerk and leave me, us alone!" she yelled and helped Yugi to his car. "Did you want me to drive?" she asked Yugi, with much concern and love in her voice. "No, I'll be fine, Anzu." he answered, giving her a fond look. All of that made Kevin very angry. "You'll be sorry, Anzu-baby! You too, pretty boy! You both will be very very sorry! The shining moons will get you all!" he shrieked and went back into the apartment complex and slammed the door.

Once the freak was gone, Yugi shook his head and managed to laugh. "Shining moons? What a ridiculous nut. Let's go." Anzu gladly agreed. "Yeah, let's get out of this crappy dump." She had some handy wipes in her purse and helped him clean up a bit before they left. Driving away, Yugi told her that he wasn't going to be staying in New York for long. "Only two weeks more and I'm going home. Jounounchi-kun and Honda-kun will be happy to see you again. Jou-kun has a little girl now and Honda-kun has two boys and a girl. I used to babysit them sometimes." he said, brushing his golden bangs out his eyes. Anzu was really surprised. "Really? Hehee, that's great! What are their names?" she asked, again admiring Yugi's pleasurable physique.

"Jou-kun's daughter's name is Shizuka, just like his sister and Honda-kun's two boys' names are Katsuya and Jounouchi, the girl's name is Mimi." Yugi said smiling. Anzu was smiling too. "That's cool. Honda named his sons after Jou and Jou named his daughter after his sister. That's really cute I think." She leaned back in the seat. It would be good to see those two loveable goofballs again. And they had kids now! She was pretty sure who the mothers were. Mai and Miho probably.

Anzu almost began to say she'd like to name her son after Atemu, but decided against it. She could tell that Yugi was touchy on the subject of the Pharaoh and she didn't need to rush things by saying she wanted kids. "Sometimes Marik calls me too to see how we are all doing. He has children and his sister too. I'm happy for them. It seems like I'm the only one left without any." he said rather strangely, almost like he was hinting at something. Anzu looked at him, not really sure how to reply. "Uh, yeah me too. Eheheeh..." she said, feeling heat rising to her cheeks. He did want to have kids too! Yay! But everything was happening way too fast. Surely, he didn't mean right now. She didn't know.

They were back at the hotel once more and much to Anzu's relief, that freaky Kevin didn't follow them or anything. Yugi turned the car off and gave her a charming, yet sly look. "I'm sure Jou-kun and Honda-kun would like having some extra playmates for their kids, don't you think?" he purred, his exquisite violet eyes sparkling. There was that sexy feathery bass tone again, making her melt utterly. She blushed and found herself shying away. "Oh, Yugi, you're so naughty. Of course they would like to have extra friends for their children. I...I can give them some, I suppose..." she squeaked, not knowing why she was being scared off by the idea. She wanted to have kids and so did Yugi. What was she ashamed of? Was she scared? Yes, that must be it. Being a parent is not an easy thing; she had to be well prepared and she'd kinda rather take it all slow.

Yugi chuckled, alluringly. "We shall deliver new lives into this world together..." he said softly, taking her hands into his. She slowly looked into his eyes and gently nodded. "Uh, yeah! Someday... But not too soon." she said, laughing nervously. Yugi laughed with her, but he sounded confident. "Oh no, not right away. After a while, someday in the future." Smiling, he took a hold of her chin as he kissed her tenderly. Anzu returned the affection happily. For the first time in ten years, things were looking up at last. Knowing she was under Yugi's physical and financial protection, took a lot of stress off her. She finally felt free at last in a land called the free when it used to feel like a prison.

* * *

A whole pleasant, carefree week went by in no time. Anzu enjoyed going to fancy boutiques buying herself a new wardrobe and things she always wanted to get for years, but never really could afford. Sometimes she felt like she was being followed, but she never saw anyone, so she shrugged the feeling off. Yugi went with her most of the time, but sometimes he had to be at Kaiba's dueling schools so she went alone. This day was one of those days, Yugi told her to be careful since that serial killer was still out there. Anzu wasn't worried, she knew how to fight back. So off she went, revisiting that nifty shop that sold glitter lip gloss, spiffy flavorful berry cosmetics, and thick high heel shoes and many other wonderful things that Anzu liked. She bought a few nice things for herself and Yugi. She was admiring the trinkets she just purchased when she heard someone calling to her. "Heeey! Anzu-chan!"

Anzu looked and saw a familiar face. "Sally!" she cried as she ran up to her. "Anzu-chan! How come you didn't come to work for so long? Where'd you go?" she asked, looking at her clothes. "Well, I-" Anzu tried to say, but Sally praised her outfit. "Oh wow! How'd you get this cool outfit? It's beautiful! Ohh! And those lace up boots! Ohhh, those are sooo nice...! Oh, how in the world could you afford all this?"

Anzu felt bad for Sally. She was still stuck at that rotten club. "Um, my old friend from Japan came here and found me. He's taking care of me now." she explained. Sally whistled. "Woo-wee! He must be loaded! You're so lucky to have a friend like that. Wow! So, what's the fella's name?"

"Yugi Mutou. He's working for Kaiba Corp. for the dueling schools Kaiba has all over the world." she replied. Sally shrieked. "Yugi Mutou? REALLY! Thee Yugi Mutou? You got to be kidding me! You NEVER told me you knew him, let alone he's your man! You are set for life, girl! And you'll be famous too!" Anzu shook her head. "No, I don't think so. Yugi's the one who wins the important duels, not me. I used to duel, but I don't think I'm still as good as I used to be."

Sally poked at her friend's outfit all over. "Satin and silk, oh and real leather on those boots! Oh, I'm going to die! I am absolutely in LOVE with this outfit! It's sooo soo cute!" she gushed, brushing wisps of blonde hair out of her face. "So, Sally, how've you been?" Anzu asked, still feeling pretty bad for her.

"Me? Oh, yeah! I got news too! I actually got to land a job yesterday with this new guy I met. Oh, what a sexy guy he is! His name is Brian and he says his club pays much better and there's no need to strip! I just have to wait tables and rake in all those tips. Also, he thinks he can get me into modeling! Says I'm beautiful, that sexy love boat. Isn't that awesome? No more stinky Biff! Hey, wasn't he mad when you left work?" Sally gave her a concerned, curious look. Anzu shrugged. "I don't know. I never went back. I left with my paycheck, so I don't have to worry about losing any money I worked for."

Sally's eyes shone. "Isn't it great that we finally out of that crappy job? Almost at the same times too! I bet we're kindred spirits or something. Sisters from another life! Yeah, I believe it. What do you think?" Anzu laughed. "I don't know about that, but I can take in us being sister-friends. You're really the only friend I had all those years in that hellish job." she told her, giving her a quick hug. Sally smiled. "Same here." Then she saw the ring on her finger. "Ohh! Pretty! Didya buy that today?"

The auburn haired girl closed her eyes and held her left hand against her heart. "No, Yugi gave this to me. We're pretty much engaged." she said, proudly. Sally gawked at her in utter shock. "No WAY! You CAN'T be serious! You are serious! Oh my fluffy bunnies! That's soo wonderful! I am so happy for you! You are so totally set for life, Anzu! You'll never have to work another day of your life. Getting married to Yugi Mutou is like being married to the president or something great like that. This is too too awesome! Wow..." she said, finally letting it all sink in. Anzu giggled, very happy that both of their lives were getting better at last.

Then Anzu remembered something. "Oh, I almost forgot! Yugi's taking me back to Japan soon. I've got one week left before we leave. I have your cel phone's number still, so I'll call you." Sally was surprised and a little sad to know she was going away, but she was happy for her. "You won't forget to call me, right?" she asked, holding her pinkie finger out. Anzu hooked her pinkie finger into hers. "I won't forget." Anzu promised.

Suddenly, a car pulled up beside them. Nothing super fancy, but a rather nice white sedan. "Hey-hey, Sally!" Anzu had to cover her ears when Sally shrieked again. "Ohh! Brian-hunny-bunny-baby-boo!" she squealed, making Anzu giggle. "Anzu, meet my hunky-poo, Brian. Sweetie, this is Anzu. She's my best buddy from stupid Biff's club."

"Hello, nice to meet you." Anzu said politely. Brian pointed both his index fingers at her, making cash register sounds. "Cha-ching! You got good looks, just like Sally here. I betcha I can get you into modeling with her. Whatta ya say?" he said, acting like an agent. Before Anzu could answer, Sally said, "Brian-boopie-doll, she doesn't need a job. Her man's Yugi Mutou!"

Brian slammed his palms against the steering wheel. "You know Yugi Mutou? The King of all Duel Monsters? Man, his title is known all over the world! Say, you think you can get him to show up at my club? You know, like a celebrity appearance thing. It'll bring in lots of dough, oh yeah, it sure will! Can he sing or dance or anything like that?"

Anzu thought a bit and recalled times when Yugi sang to Jou, Honda, and her for karoke reasons. And he could dance fairly well, though she was sure she could teach him a thing or two. When Atemu was still inside Yugi, he could beat her at dancing easily, but he wasn't there anymore. It made her feel sad to remember Atemu not being there anymore. He was her first love afterall, but Yugi was doing a great job now filling in that gap. "Uh, yeah, he can sing and dance." she replied. Brian grinned. "Cool, cool. Here's my card. Let him know I'd like him to stop by and bust some moves and sing a few songs. I'll make it worth his while. Lotta girls out there that want him, yup. Popular dude."

Anzu felt insecure and made a face. What did he mean 'lotta girls wanting him'? Grrr! "I don't think I can get him to come to your club, Brian. He's leaving in one week to go back to Japan and he's awfully busy. There's no way he can make it." she said as Sally got into the car. Brian simply grinned calmly. "Just let him know my offer. Maybe he can squeeze me into his schedule. Chow, babe." He revved the engine and Sally waved like a nut at her as they drove off. "Bye Anzu! Call me soon!"

Anzu waved. "Okie!" she called and sighed. She looked at the card Brian gave her. 'No way, am I going to give Yugi this card. He doesn't have to go to that club and get drooled on by random hussies.' she thought, tearing it in four pieces and went looking for a waste basket. But she got distracted by a side shop filled with pretty shoes and skirts. She went in and came out two hours later with ruby slippers and a hot pink mini skirt plus more cosmetics and trinkets. She actually found a bottle of perfume called 'Pervy Boyfriend'. She smiled at it with scorn. 'This perfume is perfect for Yugi. Describes him well.' she thought, tucking it away.

It took a lot of nerve for her to buy a chocolate body paint kit, something she never dared to buy before. She didn't know where she got the guts to buy such a kinky thing, but she had a sudden fantasy of covering Yugi's goodies in chocolate and then give him a bath with her tongue. His naughty perverted ways must have rubbed off on her. She hid the kit at the bottom of the bag and was having a dilemma in deciding how she should bring it up to him. Surely he wouldn't object to it, but what would he think of her? It wasn't her style to be like Bakura.

Since the crowd on the street was getting too hard to get through, she ducked into an alley. She walked down a good distance away from the sidewalk to take another good look at the body paint kit. She read the entire box in much wanted privacy.

Just then, a bunch of pretty roses were thrust into her face. Then she saw him. "Anzu-baby, these are for you." Kevin said, shoving them at her. She pushed them away. "Ugh, Kevin! Go away!" she scowled, trying to walk away from him, but he followed. "Come on, Anzu-sweetie! I'm way cooler than that punk you're with now. Lookie here!" He showed her a thick wad of bills, tied with a strong rubber band. "Ten grand in cash, for you." he said, forcing the money on her. She refused the wad of cash. "I don't want your money." she said coldly, wondering if he had robbed a bank. "Where'd you get all that anyway?"

Kevin gave her a strange look. "It's my mom's life insurance. She was killed a week ago." he said, showing no remorse or sadness. He almost seemed glad. "Your mom was killed? I'm sorry." Anzu said, being human about it. Kevin didn't act like he heard her. "Plenty more where that came from." he boasted, waving the wad of money about. Anzu stared at him. He truly was a freak! He didn't even care that his mom was dead. He seemed to care more about the money. What a monster!

"I don't care. Leave me alone. I don't want or need your money, Kevin." she said, trying to escape by walking faster. "Sure you do, Anzu-honey! You're MY girl! You understand me? Huh? You're MINE!" he growled, grabbing at her like he was going to kill her. She believed that so even more when she saw the blade of his hunting knife. She dodged, but did get her hair pulled as she tore away. She began to panic. Luckily, the crowd of people walking up and down the sidewalk were getting thicker and when he got caught behind several people with large packages, she bolted for another alley to her left. She kept running until she got to another street and flagged down a taxi. She looked over her shoulder before she got in and didn't see him. Whew! That was a close call. She never wanted to see that nut again. She couldn't forget his degrading jabs and grabs all those years before. Even though she always gave him a punch or three, he kept coming back. It was very annoying, but not as frequent as this! She didn't like stalkers...

Once she was back at the hotel, she was very paranoid and kept glancing over her shoulder to make sure he wasn't following her. Good, he wasn't there. She hurried inside and went to Yugi's room. Again, she checked behind her over and over every few steps. Sighing and trying to clear her panicky thoughts of 'what if's', she reached for her key in her purse. She felt arms go around her waist and she lashed out, letting out a frightened scream. Yugi backed away, totally stunned. "Anzu, what's wrong?" he asked, wondering what he did wrong. Anzu was so shocked. "Oh, Yugi! It's you!" she cried and fell against him, shivering. Her behavior concerned him greatly. "What happened? Anzu?" He held her tight, giving her soothing comfort to calm her down enough to explain.

"It was that jerk, Kevin! He's following me!" she wept, reliving that scary moment. "He tried to grab me like he wanted to kill me! He pulled my hair and I saw a knife, but I got away. I don't know what he would have done if I didn't get away..." She had her eyes tightly closed as tears squeezed out one after another. "How **_dare_** he...!" Yugi growled, hugging Anzu harder to himself. She opened her eyes in fright hearing how angry he sounded. If looks could kill, then Yugi's voice surely could. She never heard him sound this vicious, not even when he first fought Kevin. She looked up at him and saw the extreme rage in his narrowed violet eyes. The look on his face resembled an angry tiger ready to kill.

Yugi blinked hard and shook his head, fighting his fury down. His expression softened slightly as he returned her gaze. "I don't want you going _**anywhere**_ without me from now on. That 'man' is a danger to you and I won't let you be harmed by him ever again." he said, smoothing her hair. He took another look at her, his eyes now filled with worry, as he hugged her tightly to himself again. "I **_won't_** let anything happen to you. I _**swear**_ it..." he said in a pained tone. Anzu could tell he was struggling not to cry. Poor Yugi!

They went inside the room then. Anzu felt very edgy. That stupid Kevin had to ruin her brief moments of freedom from stress and worry. She despised him terribly. He couldn't be human, he seemed to care nothing about his mom's death and only cared about her life insurance money. Why would someone want to kill her anyway? She was annoying, but Anzu couldn't see anyone wanting to kill her. It didn't make sense.

She looked over to Yugi, who was now sitting on the bed holding his head in his hands. His long blonde bangs dusted his knees as he cried. She felt so sad for him, that she forgot about her own fears of Kevin. She went over to him and sat down. She embraced him sideways, leaning her head against his bare shoulder. She felt him put his arm around her and pull her closer to him, resting his head upon hers. "I'm never letting you out my sight again, Anzu." he whispered, rocking her gently. "I love you so much, I'd die if anything happened to you... Anything at all...!"

Anzu felt new tears forming at her eyes hearing his voice in such sorrow, worry, and pain. "I love you too, Yugi. I'm not going to let anything happen to me either, so don't you worry. We'll stay together at all times and help each other out. So, don't cry. Okay?" She nuzzled him, kissing his jawline trying to make him feel better. She knew how emotional and fragile he was. Yugi let out a gusty shaky sigh. "I'm sorry, Anzu. I can't help, but to cry. To think I didn't help you when you were in trouble..! It's unforgivable..."

She wiped his tears away. "No, Yugi. You couldn't help me because you didn't know. Don't even think about saying it's your fault. It's not. Let's not let that jerk ruin our time together. I want to show you what I bought today." She stood up and retrieved her shopping bags. She placed them on his lap and about his feet. "Go on and look through them." she said, cuddling close to him again as he half-heartedly went through the sacks of goodies. Anzu's grin grew wider and wider as he read the label on the perfume bottle. He stared at it for a moment and then closed his eyes, a gentle smile gracing his lips.

"I want you to wear that whenever we go out, okay?" She snuggled him like a teddy bear. Yugi pulled the top off the bottle and sniffed. "Bleh! My word, that's a strange smell! Don't tell me that you find it appealing." He looked at her. She was all smiles. "Uh, you _don't_ find it appealing, right?" She gave his groin a loving stroke, a sly smile on her face. "Please wear it for me, Yugi. Pretty please?..." Another affectionate stroke to the groin. Yugi purred playfully. "You keep doing that and you're going to need a crow bar to get me off you..." he said, giving her rump cheek a squeeze. She giggled. "I guess I'm going to need that crow bar then." she teased, dancing her fingers along his collarbone and then made him face her. "Keep looking through the bags, Yugi..." she said, much spice to her tone. Her lips graced his mouth with slow passionate kisses. Yugi felt his tight leather pants get even tighter. "Alright..." he replied huskily, copying her lip action on her. She shivered with delight, growing excited as well. Gentle sexy kisses were fun to give and receive.

Anzu watched with utmost joy at his surprised expression when he saw the chocolate body paint kit. "Anzu... You actually bought one of these things...?" he squeaked, blushing. Anzu took it from him and began to open it. "Hehee, yeah! Do you want to try it out?" she asked, beaming and blushing at the same time. Yugi's eyes showed her much happiness. "I got myself one of these kits back when we were in high school, but I never could bring myself to open it nor ever use it...with you..." he said softly, somewhat embarrassed. Anzu expected to feel surprised, but she didn't. She guessed she should have known Yugi would fantasize like that.

"Oh, Yugi! You're so naughty!" she mock-scolded, playfully pushing him with her shoulder. He pushed her back in a similar fashion. "Hey! You're not so innocence either, now are you?" She giggled and hugged him again. "No, I guess not. But it's you're fault, you know. Your pervy-ness rubbed off on me." He laughed sexily. "I'm glad it did. Now I can cover you in chocolate and lick you clean..."

Anzu nuzzled him, giving him more lewd kisses. "That's what I had planned for you, Mr. Mutou..." she said, teasing his groin again. "Then cover me, please..." he purred, his deep voice dripping with lust. Anzu couldn't stop smiling. He was so freaking SEXY! Oh! She felt like swooning, but instead she opened the package of frosting as Yugi prepared himself. Propping up pillows behind his back, he removed his shiny black leather pants and threw them off to the side. His manhood stood tall and proud, his hand running up and down its long proud length.

Anzu took one of the brushes in the kit and with the frosting in hand, she got in front of him. She carefully squeezed the sweet brown candy over top of his hard penis and brushed an even layer of frosting all over the excited rod. Yugi watched her, his eyes lazy with lust. "That's enough, Anzu. It doesn't have to be perfect. Please, just do it now... I can't stand it much longer..." he moaned, laying his head back and closing his eyes. He waited for a few tormenting seconds when at last he felt her warm mouth suckling him. "Mmm, this stuff is tasty!" she commented, stopping. Yugi sat up quickly to make her continue. "Don't talk, Anzu. Just keep at it. Uhhh...ahhh... Oh, that feels so good...uhhh..." he purred, clutching the sheets. The way she licked and nibbled trying to devour the frosting, it drove him wild. She remembered to fondle his sacks as well, putting him into a deep daze of pleasure. No wonder people thought up this body paint idea. Soon, his hips were bucking, slowly at first, but then faster and harder. The frosting was long gone now, but it didn't matter. The oral sex was enchanting, so very enchanting...

Suddenly, Yugi arched his back, growling in lust. He gripped the sheets at his sides as he released blissfully deep in Anzu's mouth. He nearly fell asleep right afterwards, thoroughly enjoying himself. Anzu smiled at him fondly. "How was that?" she asked, caressing him. Yugi stretched happily. "Just tell me when we can do this again, it was wonderful... I think you should get another kit, Anzu. I'm going to be getting one for you. To return the favor..." he purred. Anzu hugged him. "To think, I am actually looking forward to it. Hehee!" she said, happy that he was content. No way was she going to let Kevin ruin her happy times with Yugi.

* * *

The next day, Yugi took Anzu to one of the many dueling schools Kaiba had about there. Not only was Yugi a celebrity prize duelist, he was a part-time mentor. He also helped students gain great confidence with his advice and presence. Many students strived to do better at dueling whenever they were lucky enough to get Yugi's guidance personally. Younger students under and around the age of ten absolutely adored him. Anzu felt warm inside seeing how kind and attentive Yugi was to the children. He gave them autographed replica God cards that Kaiba mass produced to boost his company's reputation. The reproduction God cards were, of course, not tournament legal. Most of the kids begged Yugi to show them his real God cards and he did. Awe-stricken, the kiddies were very impressed and pretty much viewed Yugi as a god himself. "You are so so so much the cooliest duelist in the whole wide world!" cried a boy with red hair. "I wub you!" squealed a little girl in a green dress. Yugi was smothered such praise for hours on end as he did his job of teaching. Anzu listened even though most of what he was teaching was basic stuff only for beginners. The children seemed to eat it all up even though many of them knew what was being taught already.

Eventually, Yugi's job was finished for the day and Anzu left with him. Walking towards the parking lot, Yugi was bombarded with teen fans, all of them girls. Anzu made a face like a Jigglypuff as the crowd of girls surrounded him. She was pushed off to the side by the mob of hormone-crazed teens as the girls shrieked and screamed their requests to the king of games. They begged him for his autograph and took many grabs at him, just to say they actually got to touch him. Once Anzu saw that grabbing and what she deemed unauthorized love requests, she chased the drooling females away with violence. WHACK! WHACK! WHACK! went her purse.

The annoyed and frightened girls, one by one, left. Anzu grit her teeth, breathing hard. "And STAY AWAY from him, you hussies!" she roared at the several remaining lingering fans. They threw some street trash insults at her and really ran away when Anzu went after them with her high heels as weapons. "She's a crazed freak! Run!"

Yugi watched amused. He liked seeing girls fight, especially over him. Never happened much back in high school. Though Rebecca was a huge exception. She was still after him despite his recent rejections. They did go out several times, but Yugi always broke it off every time. He liked Rebecca a lot, but only as a friend. Thinking of this now, he realized that Anzu must have felt the same way about him before. He was sure now it was different. But he wasn't sure it stay that way if Atemu somehow returned. Surely, Anzu would pick him over Yugi if he was still around. It made Yugi very sad. Deep in his heart, he was fairly certain that Anzu still loved Atemu more. That was why he had to find a way to become one with Atemu, then if he was him, Anzu would love him all the way without any afterthoughts of another. Yugi was sure he was Atemu at first, but he wasn't really. Still, that nagging feeling of him being one and the same with Atemu was bothering him more than ever. Maybe that was why he felt so incomplete and yearned to get back the Millennium items and return to Atemu's tomb in Egypt. Yugi knew one thing for sure, if he became Atemu, Anzu would finally love him completely.

Any day now he would receive word from the archaeologists and workers Yugi had hired to dig up the site where he lost the Millennium items. He couldn't wait to hear from them. Hopefully they would deliver good news.

Anzu came back, panting. "There, I got rid of all those pheromone hussies that were bothering you, Yugi. Grrr! Who do they think they are? Shoving me aside when I'm your fiancée. Of all the nerve!" she snarled, her eyes swirling. Yugi laughed softly. "Anzu, calm down. They didn't know about you." he said, hugging her. She pouted angrily still. "Yeah well. That's still no excuse for them to drool over you like that. Stupids! Do they think they can out do me with tissues and push-ups? Fakers!" she scowled, still insecure about her breast size. Yugi nuzzled her to reassure her. "Don't worry, I'm not at all interested in them. I only have eyes for you." Anzu felt better and was beginning to calm down. "Thank you, Yugi. I'm glad you're not fooled by those hussies. I love you so!" she said, snuggling him back. He reached behind her and pinched her rump playfully. She scolded him, but pinched his rump back. They flirted all the way to the car. White deep scratch marks were etched into the black hood. 'Death to the king of games' was staring back at them. Anzu felt her fear returning. "Kevin did this, I know it! He's following me, I can't believe this! Why won't he leave me alone?" she cried, anger seeping into her fear. Yugi slammed his hands down on the hood. "I'll just have to make him leave you alone, Anzu." he said, trying to restrain his ire. She looked at him, confused. "Yeah, but how? He won't listen to reason. I know, I've tried for years. He's a real freak. His mom was killed a week ago and he didn't even care at all. He got her life insurance money and acted like he could care less about his mom. You know, when I think about it, I think he killed her."

Yugi shook his head. "I suppose he may have. I guess it's unsafe for me to tell him to back off, especially since he's a dangerous person. I think it's best if we leave for Japan tomorrow. We'll have some time to pack and I can call Mokuba. He won't mind letting us use a private jet." Anzu nodded. "Sure, I'll do anything to get away from that nut." Yugi ran his hand over the abrasions. "He really gouged these scratches in. Fool must have been really angry. Too bad for him I'm not giving you up." Yugi said, smirking a bit. Anzu was sure someone was watching them. "Let's go, Yugi. It's starting to feel creepy here." The pretty bishie nodded. "Ah." He went to the driver's side and was about to open the door when he stopped. Anzu was noticed. "What's wrong, Yugi?"

Yugi got on his hands and knees and looked under the car. A strange device was attached right underneath the driver's seat. A pipe bomb? Yugi leapt to his feet and went around to Anzu, grabbing her hand. He started to run, pulling her with him. "Yugi, what?" she tried to ask, but a deafening explosion interrupted her. They were thrown off their feet and sent flying. They looked back in horror at the flaming car. Other nearby cars were hit with shrapnel, safely shielding the couple from the dangerous projectiles. "Oh no!" Anzu cried, not knowing what to do other than gawk at the burning car. Yugi growled, pulling his cel phone out. He called 911 for assistance and then Mokuba since he would actually care to do something about what just happened. Of course, the young adult was disturbed and said he would send out Kaiba Corporation detectives right away. "I'll send someone to pick you up immediately at the hotel, don't worry." Mokuba said, then hung up to do so.

Yugi turned the cel phone off and narrowed his eyes. That Kevin was becoming more and more dangerous! "Ohhh, Anzu-baby! Come out, come out wherever you are!"

Anzu gripped Yugi's arm. "That's him!" she squeaked, her fear eating away her anger. He scowled. "I know." Anzu felt that horrible anxiety again from before when Kevin tried to get her in the alley. "Yugi, he's trying to kill us both!" she hissed in a hushed pained voice. Yugi closed his angry eyes, trying to think of a plan. "My gun was in the car..." he said, furrowing his brow in deep thought. 'Where can we escape to?' He opened his eyes and searched between the parked cars. There were two alleys, one closer than the other. "I'm giving you ten seconds to show yourself and then I'll start shooting. One, two..." Kevin's voice was somewhere near the alley closest to them, so Yugi lead Anzu to the other alley. He didn't dare try to escape towards the school. The kids might get hurt from this madman.

"-...nine...ten! Okay, Anzu-baby, I'm going to look for you now! Once I find you, I'm going to shoot your pretty boy dead. Then you'll be mine! HAHAHAHAAA!" Kevin went looking were they used to be and became angry since they weren't found right away like he wanted. Spoiled rotten, he let out a disgusted growl. "Okay, not there? I'll still find you! It's a small parking lot, I'll find you!"

By then, Yugi was sprinting to the alley with Anzu. Unfortunately, Kevin caught sight of them and fired. He missed and hit the corner of the brick wall. The sound of the bullet ricocheting made Anzu scream in fright. Yugi was making it his first priority to get Anzu to safety. "Get back here!" screamed Kevin as he rushed over to the alley. By the time he got to the entrance, he saw Yugi and Anzu go around the other end out into another street.

"Heheheee..." Kevin giggled to himself. He felt that same happy feeling come over him again. He was going to get to kill again. "Dummy. He doesn't know what I'm truly capable of..." he said to himself as he reached the other end of the alley. He caught a glimpse of his prey running towards the hotel. "Stupid! I knew he'd run back there. He thinks I don't know that's where they were staying... Heheee!"

He followed them slowly, knowing he was making them worry and panic. He savored the torment he was giving them, especially the torment he was giving Yugi.

* * *

Yugi rushed Anzu back to the hotel as fast as he could. He knew the security would stop that nut, if not, slow him down at least. Then he remembered something. Early that morning, he received a package from Egypt. Inside was his Millennium Puzzle! It was broken into many pieces, but since he had put it together twice before, putting it together for a third time was not hard at all. He kept it a secret from Anzu since he knew if she saw it, she would think of Atemu again. He felt torn since he loved his aibou, but he loved Anzu too. He didn't want to share her no matter what and would rather not present anything to Anzu that would make her think of him.

Yugi watched Anzu fret and worry. "Calm down, Anzu. Don't worry. I'll take care of everything. Just calm down." he said, hugging her as she shook with fright and sobs. "Oh Yugi! How can I? That freak just blew up your car and chased us with a gun! He tried to kill us! He's a beast! I KNOW he killed his mom! Look how nutty he is!"

He smoothed down her hair. Even though he did not want her thinking of Atemu, he knew believing he was there would help Anzu feel a lot better and calm down. He didn't want her to have a mental breakdown. 'Aibou's not in the puzzle anymore, but if I pretend I'm him, she'll stop worrying.' Yugi decided he had to get Anzu to gain composure and confidence. He let her go and walked away to get the puzzle. She watched him go with questions. "Yugi..? Yugi? Yugi..!"

He came back with the puzzle around his neck, shocking her. "The Millennium Puzzle..? But how..?" she gasped, feeling strange. Yugi closed his eyes like he used to when Atemu shared his body and unconsciously searched for him. Nothing. He saw and felt nothing. It put a heavy weight on his heart. He missed his aibou still and he knew he'd always miss him. Atemu was like the friend that was always there no matter what, but now he was gone. It was a lonely feeling.

Anzu held her breath seeing him going into those trace-like stages she had seen many times before. Atemu would emerge then, but that was over ten years ago and he was 'banished' to the afterlife. Was he back somehow? She hoped so and waited anxiously. Yugi was about to open his eyes and act out being Atemu when he felt a sudden tug in his mind, stopping him from exiting his subconscious. He was standing alone somewhere in the dark, except a spotlight was on him. Then he saw someone before him. For a split-second it looked like Bakura, the evil yami version of him. But at last with clear eyes, he saw Ryou Bakura, all gentle and sweet. He was dressed in a light teal robe with a heart on his chest and a feathered white wing and a leathery black wing.

"Bakura-kun?" Yugi asked, realizing he looked like the Change of Hearts duel monster. Ryou fluffed and floated over to him. "Yugi-kun, when the dark me sealed his soul into a piece of your puzzle, he sealed a bit of me into it as well. Since he is gone, I can tell you something of vast importance." he said, his big brown eyes shining with tears. Yugi was confused to why he was crying. "What is it, Bakura-kun? Why are you sad?" he asked, holding the puzzle tightly in his hands.

"When Zork was defeated by the Pharaoh, he wasn't destroyed. He was merely put back where he was before. He waits for the Pharaoh to go through all the tests and even if he passes, he wants to eat his existence! If this happens, you will disappear too along with him!" Ryou cried, fretting. Yugi was appalled. "But why? Aibou- er, Atemu and I are separate people."

Ryou shook his fluffy head, sending his long white thick spikes flying side to side. "No, no. The Pharaoh has stayed in your body for too long. Even though you two are different persons, the length of time he has resided in your flesh has made it such that you two are the same person. So whatever happens to him, will happen to you. If you and the Pharaoh disappear from existence, then Zork will rule the world forever. Time will change and all mankind will ever know is that they are only slaves and food for Zork. I do not want to be responsible for that."

Yugi stared at him critically. "But Bakura-kun, how can you say that? You're not responsible for what that evil demon Zork does!" Again Ryou shook his head, more tears flowing out. "Y-yes I am...! Yugi-kun, you don't understand... My aibou has stayed in my body for a long time as well. So he is me. And he is Zork... So... I too am Zork..."

Yugi was blown away, but understood, yet he didn't want to believe it was so for his poor friend. "Bakura-kun, there's no way you're that evil monster! You're too kind and gentle! More so than me even! You're NOT Zork!" he yelled, trying to get him to believe it. Ryou bit his lip and shivered as he yelled back. "Yes I am! That is why you must kill me now so I don't kill you first!" A long sword appeared from nowhere. Ryou held it and aimed the tip at Yugi's chest. His expression changed to one that was more suited for Yami Bakura. "Your friend becomes your greatest enemy, so kill or be killed!" he snarled and raised the blade high to stab down. Instinctively, Yugi held his hand outstretched and yelled, "MIND CRUSH!"

The evil Ryou disappeared instantly and Yugi opened his eyes, feeling an uncontrollable lust to kill. His mind kept telling him to kill, kill, kill. But who? Who was the enemy now? Kevin! Find him and mind crush him now! Do it... Do it now! Anzu looked very worried at the vicious gleam she saw in his eyes. Was this Atemu or Yugi? She wasn't at all sure. She saw nothing that told her right off that he was Atemu, she had a gut feeling that it was still Yugi. But she couldn't confirm it.

"Anzu, I'm not going to let that fool bother us anymore." he said, so utterly confident that she pretty much believed it was Atemu. But still, then again, Yugi now sounded very confident as well. She couldn't really decide. But she just had to find out! "...A-Atemu..?" she squeaked, completely meek. Yugi realized that Anzu thought he was Atemu, just like how he wanted her to think to get her to calm down. So this is how he must feel, no wonder he developed an attitude with the way Anzu treated him. Yugi could understand it all now.

But even though he wanted Anzu to think he was Atemu, it made him feel vert regretful and even angry. Still she cared about Atemu more! But from what Ryou said in Yugi's vision, he was Atemu, so what was the big deal? Yugi couldn't believe it, it had to be one of those impossible things where he was him and wasn't at the same time. That was too hard to understand or accept. Oh well, this was not the time to vent nor worry about it. Yugi looked at Anzu and did not say he was or wasn't Atemu. "Stay here. I'll be back once I remedy our problem." he said, heading for the door.

Anzu fretted. "Are you crazy? He's got a gun! He'll shoot you! Don't you dare go!" she cried, grabbing onto him. "I don't want to lose you again..!" she said painfully, hiding her face into his chest. For some reason, Yugi felt very betrayed. Was there no way she'd ever love him for him? He was sure she loved him, but why couldn't she ever forget Atemu? He was him wasn't he? Then again he wasn't, but he was! It made him terribly confused and he didn't know what to think. He didn't know if he should feel jealous or not, it was all so puzzling.

Yugi knew he had to choose what to believe in and he leaned more to the idea that he wasn't Atemu, that he was an individual. His nagging resentfulness would not leave him everytime Anzu showed affection towards Atemu, so he was able to decide that he couldn't be him, otherwise why would he feel so bitter? It didn't make sense if he really really was Atemu. Maybe only in part he was, but not all the way and that made Yugi more confident and less confused.

"I suppose killing him will only complicate the situation." he said softly, holding her. She squeezed his arm. "Yugi! You weren't thinking about killing him, were you? That's not like you; you hate violence!" she gasped, staring at him. The cute bishie was once again thrown into confusion. Didn't she think he was Atemu? Were those words she said before for him and not Atemu? He felt a flood of relief go through him. Perhaps, did this mean she loved only him now?

"Anzu...didn't you think I was...him moments before?" he asked, hope going into him. She smiled. "I really wasn't sure for a while, but then I realized that it was still you. Even though I can't figure you out, Yugi, I had this feeling. I dunno, like a weird knowing it was you. Like I can sense you, it's hard to explain." She hugged him close and closed her eyes. She could hear his heartbeat as she laid the side of her head against his strong chest. It was comforting somehow.

"I think I know what you mean, Anzu. I..." He wanted to tell her what he saw when he was searching the Millennium Puzzle from the inside. But should he? It might make her worry and upset her. It certainly was making him worry and feel upset.

He decided he should tell her anyway. There would be no secrets between them. "Anzu, I have something to tell you. I had a weird vision when I searched the puzzle within. I saw-" There was a loud thud out in the hallways and familiar voices yelling. "Wait here." Yugi went to investigate with Anzu staying behind, frightened. He opened the door and cautiously looked out. He saw Yuki and evil Kevin arguing. It looked like Yuki had run into him somehow and had dropped all his cards again. Kevin was yelling at him for bumping into him. Then the freak noticed Yugi peeking out from his hotel room and aimed his gun at him. "Yugi-sama! Watch out!" Yuki cried in horror. "DIE!" screamed Kevin and fired. Yugi retreated back into his room in time and the bullet hit the door frame, going deep inside the wood.

"Kisama! You tried to kill Yugi-sama! Bastard!" Yuki growled and forcefully tried to get the gun from Kevin. The nut shoved the teen down to the floor and then pointed the gun at him. "Stupid brat! Die!" he cursed and was thrown back since Yugi grabbed his arms from behind. "Yeah! Get that bum! Beat the crap outta of him! Yeeeeah, that's it! Right, left, right!" Yuki cheered. The lovely bishie and the nut fought briefly, before Yugi slammed the jerk into the wall sending him into a neutral state of extreme pain. "Yugi-sama!" Yuki said happily, going over to his idol. He slipped on some of his cards on the floor and fell on Yugi. "Careful there."

Yuki scratched the back of his head in embarrassment. "Heh, sorry about falling on you again! Hehee! But oh man, you're the best! I liked how you cracked his head back like that! Can you teach me to fight like that? Oh, you're so awesome!" he praised, eyes shining. "I was looking for you all week! Especially when I heard you were teaching somewhere around here. I just had to talk to you again, heh! I'm glad I found you! I was asking every hotel around to find out where you were staying at. Just my luck the last one I check is the one you're hanging out at. Hmph. So, what's with this crazy freak here? Why he's trying to shoot you?"

Yugi frowned at Kevin, who now seemed unconscious. "He's jealous of me, I suppose." he answered, shaking his head. Yuki was carefully picking up the nut's gun with a pen through the trigger ring so he wouldn't get fingerprints on it. "But a lot of people are. And they're not trying to kill you because of it. Why is this guy?" Yuki asked.

Anzu ventured out of the room and saw that Yugi was alright. "Yugi! You're alright! I was so worried..." she said, rushing to him, kissing and hugging him. "Don't worry. I'm fine, Anzu." he purred, smoothing her hair down. Yuki stared and then jumped back a bit, pointing. It was amazing that he didn't drop the gun holding onto it only with a pen. "Ah! You have a girlfriend? Wow!" He looked at Kevin slumped over on the floor and back to Yugi and Anzu. "Wait a sec! Is that guy jealous of you, because of this girl?"

Yugi nodded sullenly. "Yes, unfortunately." Anzu looked at the teen with reddish-brown hair. "That moron-" she jerked her thumb towards Kevin. "has been harassing me for years. His mom was my landlord for a long time until Yugi got me out of that place. I knew Yugi ever since we were little."

Yuki scratched his face. "That's cool. Er, I mean, not the part of that weirdo bugging you, miss. I mean you and Yugi knowing each other for so long. I wish it were me. Uh, wait a minute! I don't mean it like that!" he cried, waving his hands. Poor kid. He was just as scatterbrained and hyper as Jounouchi.

Anzu was fairly disturbed by Yuki's weirdness, but Yugi was very used to him. One of his biggest fans, Yuki idolized Yugi to no end. He hoped someday he would be just like him. He strived hard at Kaiba's Dueling School to improve his skills everyday. He still treasured the Kuriboh card Yugi gave him and looked forward to the day when he would hear Yugi say he was very proud of him.

Suddenly, Mokuba came with some police officers. "Yugi! Are you alright?" he cried, rushing over. Yugi explained to him what had happened and pointed at Kevin. Like on cue, the nut shakily got to his feet and looked for his gun. He saw Yuki was holding it up by a pen. "Gimme that!" he screamed and lunged at the teen. Yuki was startled and leaped back, dropping the gun. Kevin snatched it up and aimed at Yugi immediately. "FREEZE!" the cops yelled, pulling out their own guns.

"Heh heh heh! You think you won today, punk! But this is only the beginning! Anzu-baby WILL be MINE!" Kevin giggled like a loon. "DON'T MOVE!" the police ordered, approaching cautiously. Kevin didn't even acknowledge them. "This is just a warning, punk!" he screamed and pulled the trigger. Right before the gun fired, Yugi moved. The Millennium Puzzle flew into the path of the bullet as he dodged. It changed the direction, but not enough to miss the bishie. Anzu shrieked as she saw Yugi fall to the floor, gripping his wounded shoulder. Yuki had had enough. "Kisama!" he growled and head-butted Kevin in the gut with enough force to make him drop the gun. The police had a little trouble getting the teen off the maniac before they handcuffed him. Yuki got a few kicks in here and there. Meanwhile, Mokuba was worried for Yugi and so was Anzu. She fretted as Mokuba called for paramedics on his cel phone. "Oh no, no, no! Yugi! Are you alright?" Anzu asked, trying not to cry.

Yugi squeezed his eyes shut. This pain was not fun. "I think so... I don't think the bullet's in my shoulder. It grazed me deeply. It hurts a lot." he said in a strained voice. Mokuba made him remove his bloody hand to look. "Yeah, it does look like it took a chunk out of you. Better not hold onto it too hard. You might make it worse." he advised. Anzu stood up with tears in her eyes. She felt so helpless and she hated it. This was all because of stupid Kevin! She whirled to see the freak under arrest and as an officer was reading his rights, she stormed over.

Mokuba watched her go, almost sensing her anger. "Anzu-chan..." he said. Anzu went right up to Kevin and slapped him across the face as hard as she could. "I hate you! I hope you rot in jail, you monster! How dare you hurt my Yugi? You weren't just trying to kill him, but me too! Stop coming after me! I hate you so much! Just leave Yugi and me alone, you freak!" she screamed, trembling with rage. "I'll never leave you alone, Anzu-baby..." Kevin said in a low frightening voice. "You're mine and until you know it, I'll never leave you..." Anzu was shocked and terrified. He was totally mental! He just wasn't getting it and probably wouldn't. This was bad. Very very bad. "...No..." Anzu whispered to herself, backing away.

Mokuba frowned. "Alright, that's enough! Take him away and lock him up for as long as you can. This jerk is a danger to my brother's employee and our dueling schools. You're in big trouble, mister!" he said. The police dragged the raving Kevin away as other officers collected the gun. The paramedics arrived and helped take Yugi to a hospital. Anzu was a nervous wreck. When would this nightmare end?

**To Be Continued onto Chapter 2! Coming in Ch2: The phone call to Seto Kaiba and a visit to Egypt!**


	2. A WHOLE LOT of TROUBLE

No Longer Little Ch.2

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All Yu-Gi-Oh! characters are copyright of Kazuki Takahashi and Konami.

Author Note: This is a sweet romantic-ish ficcy of Yugi and Anzu (Tea). Anzu goes to New York to start her dancing career but doesn't make it. She falls on hard times with depression and is forced to become a stripper instead to support herself. Too ashamed to contact her friends from high school, she is alone until Yugi finds her about ten years later. No longer is he a "Little Yugi" but rather a Yugi that is like Yami Yugi though even better since he surpassed him years before (see last episodes of the anime and manga). A great ficcy for those who love hetero hardcore romance and Yugi X Anzu lemon stuffs. :) R/R, please no flames! If you don't like Anzu or Yugi, just don't read this then. I don't want hateful reviews / flames from those who don't even like these characters.  
Also see the fic scene fanart piccys for this fic series at my website http:www. and http:alaer. (remove the spaces) Enjoy!

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No Longer Little

Chapter 2

A few days later, things calmed down. Kevin was in jail and Mokuba promised he'd make sure that the nut wouldn't get out on bail or parole. Yugi was healing well and luckily his wound wasn't too serious. Anzu stayed with him all the time. She never left his side, except to go to the bathroom. When she made her daily trip to the restroom, Yugi did some calling to Kaiba in Japan, telling him about how dangerous Kevin was. At first, Seto showed no interest and after Yugi argued with him for half an hour, the CEO reluctantly gave him the permission to return to Japan as soon as possible. But he had different plans for Kevin than just keeping him in jail.

"I'll just have my private workers kill that fool. Then you can stay in the states like I'm paying you to and you won't have to be scared anymore." Kaiba said, grooming his fingernails. Yugi gave him an exhausted sigh. "I told you not to do that! The laws are different over here. They'll convict you, Kaiba-kun!"

Kaiba scoffed. "Oh, shut up. I've been killing countless morons in my way for years and I practically own the world now. You think your moaning is going to stop me? If you won't do your job because of some gnat, then he needs to be destroyed. I'd threaten to fire you, but annoying as it is, I still need you. So don't make this hard on me. Do you get it or not?"

"Yes, I understand how you are..." Yugi said solemnly. Kaiba clipped too close to his nailbed and bit his lip. "And what is THAT supposed to mean?" he growled, tightening his grip on the phone. Yugi shook his head even though the mudpie couldn't see him. "Never mind." Yugi rolled his eyes. Why was he STILL a jerk after all these years? Maybe he needed a girlfriend? But what girl could stand him?

"Heh, I bet you're too scared to do anything about that idiot Kenvin, or whatever the fool's name is. Poor little Yugi. Still a baby after all these years. I knew you'd be a wimp all your life." Seto teased meanly, just to make Yugi mad enough to go get rid of Kevin on his own. Hiring a hitman cost a lot of money. Money Seto had, but didn't want to waste for Yugi. Plus, Seto did see a change in his rival. He was tougher and stronger. He usually took on fighting challenges instead of avoiding them with words or just plain dueling to resolve the matter.

Seto liked that and figured it do Yugi some good to keep up that attitude by angering him to fix the Kevin problem. About two years after Yugi had sent his aibou to the underworld (none of it Seto really believed), they fought with their fists for the first time. It was a painful draw, but they fought many times afterwards. Seto usually started the fights and got a strange high from punching Yugi with all his might. If he could not beat him down with dueling, he would beat him down with his fists.

Unfortunately, Yugi was a formidable opponent and he grew stronger with every fight. Seto didn't care that he was actually helping Yugi by becoming a better fighter; it just felt great to actually punch the stuffing out of him! One of the unfortunate set-backs was that Yugi was very good at punching the stuffing out of Seto as well.

Yugi narrowed his eyes. All his teen years, he took the painful teasing and taunting in sorrow, suffering the harassment in private. But after becoming and being an adult, he had had enough of it all. He fought back with his fists, something he always wanted to do, but could never break his tame shy frightened nature to do it.

"Do you need me to beat some sense into you again?" Yugi struggled to say without sneering. "I don't want you to kill him...I'd rather much do it myself..." The spiky haired bishie shook his head. No, he couldn't kill. Anzu told him not to and it wasn't right anyway. Unless it was self-defense...

"Then what are you waiting for? Here, write this number down. These are the people who'll let you in that moron's cell so you can get rid of him. Then you don't have to hurry back here. I'd rather you be in a different country than me as long as possible. Here's the number-" Kaiba was very annoyed when Yugi interrupted him.

"I don't want it, Kaiba. Anzu doesn't want me to kill anyhow and it's not right either." Yugi said and was blasted by Seto's loud obnoxious laughter. "Hahaha! So, the mighty King of Games takes orders from a woman! That's rich! Richer than me! Hahahaa! Yugi, you're a fool to listen to any woman. A man makes his own rules and decisions without taking on the worthless advice of some weak-minded female! You idiot."

Yugi wondered if his puzzle had any Voo-Doo powers just then. He closed his eyes and tightened the grip on the phone. "It's not like that, Kaiba! Women sometimes know better and I appreciate all the advice Anzu gives me! You wouldn't know anything about that since you've been a single all your life! When you find a nice lady to love, you'll understand."

Kaiba made a strange noise that sounded like he was vomiting. "Yeah right. Like I'd want to." he said very snottily. "Look Yugi, you may fall for idiotic things like love and believe in nonsense like faith and fairies, but I'm not so gullible! If there a problem in your job or in your life, just get rid of it! Don't waste my time by bothering me about it. Just kill that moron and be done with it. You won't have to worry about him anymore and then you can go back to your worthless boring life. If you can't help yourself, then I will, just to shut you up! Now what is it going to be?"

Yugi rubbed his temples. "I'll take care of it, Kaiba. I'll stay here, but I'm going to Egypt afterwards. You don't need me in Japan soon, do you?" he asked and pulled the phone away from his ear as Seto roared, "I ALREADY TOLD YOU! The longer you're not in the same country as me, I'm happy! Get it? Good-bye!" The mudpie then slammed the phone down. Yugi sighed. "You always have to argue with me, don't you?" he said out loud and turned his cel phone off. He inspected his shoulder. It still hurt, but it was much better. He stretched gently, even though his shoulder protested. Closing his eyes, he layed back and held the puzzle. After a few moments, he opened his eyes and brought the puzzle into his vision. The heavy thing shined and glistened in the late afternoon sun.

"Aibou..." Yugi said softly, rubbing his thumbs over it. Then he thought he heard something. Like breathing coming from somewhere. He realized the faint sound was coming from the puzzle! "Huh?" He heard it close to his ear and could tell it was labored breathing, like if someone was running and in pain. Then a yell of terror and he was sure it Atemu. Aibou! Help me! Yugi gasped and dropped the puzzle. It fell beside him. The bishie was afraid to pick it up. What did this mean?

Suddenly, he blacked out, yet he knew he did. He was somewhere all dark with strange fog floating about. "What are you doing here, mortal? How did you get here?" a voice barked at him. Yugi turned and saw an extremely tall being with a head of a jackal and a body of a man. Yugi backed away, unsure how to answer.

"Anubis, god of the dead commands you to answer!" the Egyptian god said with much authority. Yugi remembered some guy with that name when Atemu was one with him. He was about to ask him if he was the same person, but the dog-headed being shook his head. "No, I am not that human sorcerer. He had long failed the test and Amut found him quite a meal. Now, I asked you; what are you doing here?"

"I-I, well, I'm not sure..." Yugi finally answered. Anubis widened his eyes. "Surely, not... No, this does not make sense. I remember you. Yes, you're the one who recently passed the test. Yet, you look somewhat different." Anubis bent down and sniffed Yugi. He even licked him, covering him in smelly wet goo. Yugi tried to shake off the gunk as the entity growled. "Indeed, you are not the Pharaoh! But you have his face and body! What trickery is this? Ra! Ra! Get down here!" Anubis bellowed, baring his teeth. "Set better not be messing up my records again! He'll pay for this screw-up!" he snarled. "Evil demon, always trying to make my job harder!"

Ra appeared moments later, looking very annoyed. "What in the underworld is it now, Anubis?" he scowled. "You know I have many more gates to go through to continue the night."

Anubis pointed to Yugi. "Do you know why this mortal is here? Has Set been throwing my records away again? Get Osirus here as well! He is his brother, he should know!" Ra rolled his bird eyes. "Then why didn't you ask him first? I'm very busy, you know."

"Well, so am I!" Anubis barked. Ra sighed. "Very well, I'll ask him to pay you a visit. For this mortal, I do not know why you are here or how, but this is a serious offense!" The falcon-headed god disappeared into the darkness then. Anubis was about to give Yugi the third degree again when a strange creature climbed his body and whispered something in his ear. The dog-headed man growled deeply. "Fine! I'll be there." He stared Yugi down. "Don't move, human! There's something going on here, but I have other matters to attend to right now. I'll send someone to watch you." He disappeared the same way Ra did. Yugi bit his lip. 'Ok, this is really weird. Why am I in the underworld? Darn, I should have asked for Atemu!' he thought then, feeling dumb. But the incredible size of those gods numbed his brain.

Yugi suddenly felt the ground, or whatever he was standing on, shaking. Before he could think of what to do, he heard a monstrous growl. He turned to see Atemu running away from something huge with red eyes. No, it couldn't be..! Zork?

"Other me!" Yugi cried unconsciously. Atemu ran to him as fast as he could, but he was seriously injured. "Aibou!" he yelled, only several feet away. Yugi ran to him when he hit an invisible barrier. "No!"

Atemu collapsed about a foot away and struggled to stretch his hand out to him. "Aibou, help me!" Yugi tried to reach for him, but the barrier stopped him again. He slammed his fists over and over against it. "Other me! I can't get through!"

Atemu pulled his hand back and clenched it into a fist of distress, eyes squeezed shut in pain. "Go to the gateway to the underworld! I'll try to find you! Hurry!" Before Yugi could answer, Zork snatched Atemu off the ground and began to torture him. His screams made Yugi insane with hate for the demon and defense anger for his friend. "ATEMU!" he shrieked, hitting his hands over and over against the shield he couldn't see before him. He slammed his body against it, but it did no good. Zork just laughed and laughed. Yugi was sure he could hear the Pharaoh's bones snapping and breaking, but he not only could hear it, he could feel it! He fell to the dark ground and curled into a ball, feeling the pain seeping into him. His screams joined Atemu's and then he felt someone shaking him. And pulling him apart...!

"Hold him still! He's delusional! Nurse, restrain his other arm!"

Yugi took a huge gasp of air like he was suffocating. He opened his eyes and saw the doctor and two nurses tying him down to the bed. He noticed the blood on himself and realized he had clawed his shoulder wound open. It hurt again. Fresh blood flowed out. He didn't understand how it happened. He didn't remember even doing anything like that in his blacked out vision.

Anzu was in a corner, watching with wide fearful teary eyes. The doctor began to ask him strange questions only mental people were asked. Yugi was very offended, but he could see why the doctor would think that of him. He was about to assure him that he was perfectly sane, when he saw his puzzle wasn't by his side. He couldn't see it anywhere!

"Where's my puzzle?" he yelled angrily, struggling and kicking his unrestrained legs and accidentally hitting a nurse. "WHERE'S MY PUZZLE?" Yugi asked again, getting very upset. Anzu quickly rushed forward and gave it back to him. "I'm sorry, Yugi." she said softly. "I saw it on the floor so I picked it up for you." She layed it near him on the bed.

"Thank you, Anzu." Yugi said as calmly as he could. "Please untie me. I have to leave and go somewhere important right away." He had to get to Egypt! Atemu was going to get killed all over again!

"No, I think you should stay here. You shouldn't be going anywhere in your condition." the doctor said, nearly infuriating Yugi, but instead of blowing up in rage, he devised a plan. "Well, I guess you know what's best for me. I'd like to be alone with my fiancée, please. I need to talk to her privately." he said politely despite his churning emotions. The doctor was about to say something along the lines of declining when a call went over the intercom. "Doctor Mayhum, Doctor Mayhum. Please report for surgery please."

"I have to go. Nurse, stay here and make sure his wound is properly dressed and that he stays secure. I'll be back." The doctor left in a hurry. Yugi felt like he was going to explode if he didn't get out of that place soon. Luckily the nurse was able to fix up his shoulder in a short amount of time. Then cries from another patient from the room next door caught her attention. "I'll come back soon. Miss, please watch him. I won't be long." she said and hurried away.

Once they were alone, Anzu didn't have a chance to ask him what was wrong with him when he ordered her to free him. "But Yugi, what's going on? Why did you-" she tried to say. "T TOLD you there's no time! Hurry up and get me loose! I got to get to Egypt right away! He's in terrible danger and I've got to help him!" Yugi said, pulling at the restraints. Even though he did not say his name, Anzu knew who he was talking about. She quickly set him free and he grabbed his stuff. Anzu helped him gather all his belongings and her stuff too.

Yugi and Anzu pretty much sneaked out of the hospital, which wasn't too hard since most of the staff was too busy and the ones who weren't busy were not paying much attention to anything. Once outside, Yugi waved down a taxi and ordered the driver to take him to Kaiba Corp.

Yugi called Mokuba then on his cel phone and asked him to help fly him to Egypt right then. "Are you sure my brother said he didn't care if you did this? These private jets are more his than mine..." Mokuba asked uncertainly. "Yes, he said the longer I'm not in the same country as him, he's happy." Yugi said, repeating Seto's words. "Please, Mokuba-kun, this is really important. I have to help save the Pharaoh."

Mokuba understood such things with Yugi better than Seto, who never wanted to understand or believe it even though he had seen Ancient Egypt and his counterpart from that time. "Alright, I'll get a jet ready then. When you get here, meet me on the roof. I'm going with you too. I'll go now to get everything set up. Bye!" Yugi turned the cel phone off and sighed.

His mind was pounding with excitement and stress. He would get to see Atemu again! Or would he? Maybe it was already too late? How fast or slow did the underworld's time go compared to regular living time? Yugi wanted answers, but there was no way to get them. Also if Atemu came back, Anzu may like him more than Yugi all over again. He was sure it could happen. He knew if he happened to love another, he would still care for his first love more so no matter what. But he did not love another. He only loved Anzu. He couldn't let Atemu steal her away again, but he couldn't let him suffer and die once more. He was in a difficult spot.

Anzu put her hand on top of his. "Don't worry, Yugi. We'll get there in time. Try to rest." she said, squeezing his hand. He nodded, still his thoughts jumbled. What he saw in his underworld vision was far worse than a horrible nightmare. He just had to save his aibou at all costs! Even at the cost of losing Anzu again...

* * *

The trip to Egypt was as tormenting as the torture Zork inflicted on Atemu. It took hours and even though Mokuba and Anzu tried to calm Yugi, he became more and more agitated. Even though it was traditional to travel to the Valley of the Kings by boat, Yugi made them fly directly there. They saw that the workers there had cleared out the cave and it was now easy to access. Camp sites were here and there all around the area. No one seemed to be working on the cave right then. Good.

Yugi left the jet in a hurry and went straight to the entrance. To his surprise, Bakura was there! "Bakura-kun!" Yugi shouted, panting hard from running. The white haired man turned to look at him in surprise. "Yugi-kun! You came here too?" He was carrying a backpack and adjusted it nervously. He looked like he was trying to hide something.

Yugi was about to ask him what was wrong when he suddenly felt a sharp pain in his gut. "Ugh!" he cried and fell to his knees. He held his sides and bowed over. Bakura rushed over to him. "Yugi-kun! Yugi-kun! Oy, get up!" He shook his shoulder, in attempts to get a positive response from him. Yugi groaned in terrible pain, his eyes squeezed shut. The puzzle glowed brightly and Yugi felt all the energy leave his body. He knew he was blacking out again. He thought he heard Anzu cry out his name. He knew she was worried for him. He didn't have much time to think about it any longer when he saw Atemu before him almost instantly.

"Aibou!" he cried, stumbling to reach him. Yugi fell onto his knees and grabbed his outstretched hand. "Other me! Are you alright?" he asked, tears dripping down his face. He saw many bruises and wounds on his friend. It made him feel terrible to see him in such a condition. Atemu shook his head, trembling in agony.

"N-no... Aibou... I'm glad you came..." he said softly and his expression softened for him. Then he collapsed onto Yugi. "Other me!" he cried, trying to help him up, but his hands went through him. Horrified, Yugi frantically tried to grab onto him. Atemu was slowly disappearing from view and silver sparkles replaced him. Eventually they shimmered out of sight. Yugi bit his lip and cried hard. He came too late. That had to be it. Atemu was gone for good...

Suddenly Zork appeared without any thundering steps to alert Yugi. The demon scooped up the sobbing man in his claw and taunted him. "HA HA HA! Your Pharaoh is dead! And now, it's your turn to die!" he roared and in a split-second he gripped Yugi like a toy sending much terror through him. He began squeezing the life out of him then.

Yugi screamed and screamed until he felt something snap and break inside of him. Then dark blackness overtook him. He felt and knew nothing for an unknown amount of time, then his eyes opened on their own. He saw a strange wood ceiling and smelled food cooking. He was in a bed somewhere. He sat up with a jolt. Savage pain ran through him bringing him back down to the bed's soft mattress. What was going on here? Where was he?

Yugi held his head in confusion and felt bandages. He looked at the rest of his body and saw that someone had tended to his injuries. He began to notice that Atemu's presence was with him again. Deep in his heart, he could sense he was sleeping. 'Other me... You're alright...' he thought with much relief. The feeling of the Pharaoh inside him again was comforting. 'I missed you...'

Suddenly, he realized someone was looking at him. He looked up and saw a pretty lady smiling at him. She had raven black hair and tan skin just like Marik. Gold jewelry hung from her head and neck, accenting her beauty. Her sharp green eyes gazed at him lovingly. That look made Yugi feel uneasy. Who was she?

"You're awake after all this time. I was afraid I'd lose you again." she said, her voice sweet and charming. Yugi shook his head, trying to clear his mind. He was so bewildered. What was going on here? Where was he? Who was she? What in the world happened? Yugi wanted answers.

Yugi tried to sit up again but the pain forced him to lay down. "Oh no, don't get up. You must stay still. Your bones haven't healed yet." she said, fussing over him. Again she gave him that affectionate gaze. Yugi did not like it at all. He turned away, furrowing his brow. "Who are you? And what's going on? Where am I?" he asked, starting to feel annoyed.

The woman laughed alluringly. "Slow down. You must not remember anything, my beloved Pharaoh." she said, smoothing his spikes down. Yugi turned around just enough to glare at her. "What do you mean by that? I'm not the Pharaoh..." he said cautiously. How does this woman know about Atemu?

She giggled flirtatiously and tapped his nose. "Don't be silly, Atemu! You know me. I'm your eighth wife Lilianne. Remember Lily? I forgot who I was years before, but now after I searched myself, I remember. I was reincarnated and I was sure you were too. And so I had to find you. It took many years of praying to the gods, but at long last they sent me a vision and I found you out in the desert. You were almost near death, but I saved you. Now we're together again because of fate." She tried to kiss him, but he quickly turned away in time.

"You don't understand... I'm not Atemu..." Yugi said, his mind filled with troublesome thoughts. Even when Atemu was with him the first time, he had no memories of his past life. So he never knew about his wives or anything of the sort. He did not know this woman and Atemu was still sleeping deeply in his heart trying to heal, so he could not ask him about her.

Lily looked a little upset. "Yes you are. Your face and voice are the same. I know my own husband. Are you saying I'm crazy? That I do not know what I can see and hear? Why are you being like this Atemu?" she said, each word carrying more anger than the last. Yugi closed his eyes in distress. "Atemu's my aibou... He's my other self, but yet...he's not me... I don't know who you are and I am not your husband. Please understand."

The pretty Egyptian woman looked at him like he was insane. "Surely, the demons have poisoned your mind and made you forget about me. I will pray for you, my Pharaoh." she said softly and left, closing the door to the small room Yugi was in. The man looked about the room and saw there was nothing of modern technology in the room. How was she able to care for him without any modern medical care? His eyes fell upon some strange bottles and many herbs on a table. Home remedies? Sorcery? Surely one of the two or maybe both.

Yugi's brain hurt. It was filled with so many questions and that weird woman that was supposed to be one of Atemu's many wives from the past. He did not want that woman doing anything romantic with him at all. Not even if Atemu took over. He was going to lay the law down. This was his body and no way was he going to betray Anzu by letting another woman touch him. Even if Atemu remembered this Lily person, he wouldn't let him use his body to express any affection to her. He felt sleepy then without knowing how or why. In a few moments, he was fast asleep.

* * *

Several days later, Yugi was healed enough to get up and walk around. He wanted to leave and find Anzu, but Lily made it clear that he wasn't going anywhere. There was a magical barrier around the small home she had, preventing Yugi from escaping. He noticed she could leave outside the barrier whenever she wanted, but he couldn't. He had tried hitting and kicking it, but it always resisted him. Lily also had hidden his puzzle. She said it harbored many evil spirits that were making him crazy. Yugi knew this wasn't true and of course was furious that she took it from him.

In his rage, he actually got physical with her, demanding she give it back to him. She used some sort of magic to throw him off her. "You dare hurt your own wife when she's trying to help you?" she cried, acting like he was the bad guy. Yugi fought down his anger and got to his feet. "I'm sorry..." he said quietly, unable to look at her. That wasn't right. His mother and grandpa always taught him to never try to hit any woman for any reason. He felt ashamed, but she shouldn't hide his puzzle from him. Maybe it was his ticket to break that barrier. Yugi closed his eyes, both in hurt and anger.

Lily looked very angry and sad at the same time, then she looked sorry for him. She went to him and hugged him. Yugi felt too numb to push her away. "I'm sorry too. I'm sorry I hid your puzzle, my love. But it's for your own good. Until I can purify it, the puzzle must remain hidden." she said sofly. Yugi opened his eyes and gave her a disgusted look. He pulled away from her and stormed outside. It had been almost two months now that he was stuck here. Most of the time he had spent healing, but it was still a long time to be missing. Anzu was most likely worried sick about him. He promised he would take care of her too, but how could he now? He was letting her down...

She might be looking for him, but maybe she gave up by now. Yugi didn't blame her. She was probably used to men lying to her. But Yugi didn't lie. He didn't know any of this was going to happen. He was only trying to save Atemu...and himself. The sun was setting and it looked so beautiful that Yugi ached to be by Anzu's side again. He wanted to be next to her enjoying the sunset together. He closed his eyes and imagined her soft kisses and touches. Such thoughts only made him yearn for her more. Remembering the wonderful sex that they always enjoyed made him feel even worse. He really couldn't stand it.

"KUSO!" he cursed, dropping to his knees and slamming his fists into the sand. Atemu appeared next to him in his mind's eye. Even without the puzzle, Atemu was able to be with Yugi by residing in his heart. Although his powers were very weak without it, Atemu still could talk to Yugi. "Aibou..." he said, still not completely healed, but well enough to chat with him. Yugi used to enjoy any comfort from him, but now after these many years of solitude, he felt somewhat distant from him at this point.

Yugi was not very interested in any consoling that Atemu may have for him. He wanted Anzu, no one else. Yet, he supposed comfort from anyone right now was better than none at all. Except from Lily. "Other me...oh, I mean, Atemu..." Yugi replied, looking down at the sand. Atemu went down on his knees too and put his arms around him. "Don't feel this way, Yugi. We may have been apart for a long time, but things are the same between us. You can confide in me and I will confide in you. Let's talk. I still want to thank you again for saving me from Zork."

"I couldn't let you die there. If you were eaten, I wouldn't exist either." Yugi said, making sure he added, "But even if I didn't fade from existence, I would have still saved you." Atemu nodded, hugging him gently and then sitting next to him. "Ah. I know. But there's something wrong... I can't quite remember, but I faintly recall something terrible will happen if I was to return to this world like I did before. If this is true, we must figure out some way to get me back to the underworld and continue my journey to my new life. As much as I enjoy this limbo, I do not belong here."

Yugi looked at him and then examined the sand again. "Yes, I suppose... I will miss you again, but I understand how important it is for you to make it to your new life and body. Then you can stop borrowing mine. Eheheheh!" he joked gently. Atemu laughed. "Such good humor in you, aibou. I will never forget you. You are a part of me and I am a part of you."

Yugi sighed deeply. He had to get it off his chest. "I'm sorry I surpassed you those many years before... I didn't want to, but I couldn't be selfish by keeping you in me. I cared about you so I made myself let you go. Yet, I was glad because I finally did beat you and I could have Anzu to myself." he admitted. Atemu was surprised. "Aibou..."

Yugi looked away as tears fell from his cheeks. "Yes, I was jealous of you... Anzu cared about you more than me and I pretty much hated you because of it. So, I was able to get the strength to banish you from my heart back then. And now... I still have that strength to banish you again..."

Atemu stared at him, stunned. "...Aibou..." Yugi made himself look at him. "Why are you so shocked? That's what you want done. I have to banish you again. It's for the best. I do care about you, other me, but I want to believe I'm an individual. One unique person. I'm me and that's it."

The Pharaoh stood and nodded. "You're right, aibou. Once you and I separate again, you will be an individual once more. I will give you that sense of individuality by not taking control of your body while I am with you. This I promise you. I will stay hidden deep in your heart and heal more. I want to be ready for my journey in the underworld." He was about to fade away, when Yugi stopped him.

"Wait! What about this woman I'm stuck with? She says she's your eighth wife. Her name is Lilianne. Lily. Do you remember her?" Yugi asked, hoping Atemu would have a remedy to his dilemma. The Pharaoh closed his pretty purple eyes to think. "Lilianne? Lily... Lily... Lily... Hmm..." Atemu opened his eyes and shook his head. "I have a faint memory of her... Let me see... Oh wait. Lilianne! Oh no, not her..." he groaned, covering his face with his hand.

Yugi felt a deep sinking feeling in stomach. This did not look good. "What's wrong?" he asked, thinking the worst. Atemu grabbed a hold of Yugi's shoulders. "Don't let her keep you here! She's not well at all."

"Not well?"

"Lilianne was always jealous of my other wives and so she took up dark sorcery to kill off my favorites. Luckily, we were able to find out her plans and stop her in time before she killed for the second time. She was punished severely in a way of which I will not speak of here. Her spirit must be searching for me. This woman here may be her in a new life and body, but still she is very dangerous and insane. She is obsessed with me."

Yugi felt dreadful. "And I look like you too... And you're also in me, so it makes sense that she's after me. Oh boy, this is going to be hard to fix..." he said. Atemu nodded. "The only thing you wouldn't have to worry about is her poisoning your food. She was one of my personal food inspectors and she did her job well. She was very fierce at making sure my food was always safe. If only she wasn't so envious, she'd be more likeable. I wasn't very crazy about her anyway. She was one of those people I was forced to marry for political reasons."

Yugi sighed. "I suppose I should be glad enough for that one thing. I won't have to starve with her around." Atemu was very solemn. "Make sure you have a lot of strength by eating well. Find the Millennium Puzzle as soon as you can, aibou. We must escape this place soon. Be very careful." Yugi felt Atemu retreat into his heart and become dormant.

Slowly, he got to his feet and dusted the sand off his knees and hands. That nutty Lilianne didn't come outside thankfully. Yugi bet she was still probably mad at him. He wandered over to an oasis near the house and had an idea when he looked at the tree. He climbed it quickly and reached the top in no time. Over a hill of sand, he could see a small, but well-lit town. Lilianne had two camels tied up in a stall close to the house. If he could only break the barrier and escape to that town on one of those camels, he could call for help. Not only did Lilianne hide his puzzle, but she hid his cel phone too. He was surprised that she didn't take his Duel Monster cards away. She had taken about everything else away.

A monstrous growl at the base of the tree spooked him and Yugi was sure he needed to change his pants. He looked down and saw a huge black dog with glittering red eyes. It looked more like a demon than a dog and the way it growled made Yugi think that it was more true. The creature began to bark viciously at him and kept leaping up the trunk trying to get him. Yugi wished he had his gun...

Lilianne appeared then and cuffed the monstrosity. It whimpered and backed away. "Silly Death! That's the Pharaoh up there, you stupid dog! Don't bark at him!" she scolded, whacking the dog once more. It whimpered again, but every time it looked at Yugi, it snarled. "Come down, my love! Dinner's ready!" she called up the tree.

Yugi didn't want to admit it, but he was pretty much afraid of that freaky demonic-looking dog. His name didn't sound like he was a friendly dog either. Yugi came down the tree despite his fear for the horrible doggie of doom. He was hungry besides. When he set foot on the ground, the dog immediately lunged for him. "DEATH! STOP IT!" she screamed and grabbed his collar. Yugi had already climbed the tree halfway to save his skin. "Can you tie him up or something?" he asked, feeling embarrassed. That stupid dog was making him look like a wimp! D'oh!

Lilianne figured that would be a good idea and chained the monster near the camels. It didn't bother the other animals at all. Death kept a good watchful eye on Yugi though. It growled and growled. Lilianne ignored the dog and shut the door behind Yugi. She locked it and lavishly prepared Yugi for his meal. She seemed to have forgotten Yugi's physical slight assault and happily put a large cloth around his neck as a bib so his clothes wouldn't get stained. She gave him a large percentage of the dinner she made and pretty much watched him eat. It was very stressful to have her stare at him while he ate, but Yugi knew he had to keep his strength up in order to escape as soon as possible. He especially would need it to fend off that dog creature outside.

Surely the beast would attack him if he tried to get at the camels. And it would make noise too. He would have to do something about that dog before he carried out his plan to escape. That night, Lilianne had a different place for him to sleep at. Her bed. Yugi was not at all for it.

"Atemu, this is silly! You're my husband and wives sleep with their husbands! Now get into that bed!" she scolded, pointing at the large bed. Yugi couldn't help but argue again. "Look, Lilianne. I told you. I'm NOT Atemu! I'm Yugi Mutou! I am NOT your husband! I'm going to sleep in that bed I was in when I was injured before." He went to leave and she grabbed his arm, stopping him.

"The demons have really brainwashed you, my love. It's alright. I still believe in you. Come and sleep with me. Everything will be alright in the morning. Come." she said softly, treating him like HE was the serious nutcase. Yugi yanked his arm free and glared. He was about to repeat what he said before when he got an idea. If she wanted Atemu, she would get Atemu. His annoying royal side. Yugi knew that side of his aibou all too well. He was sure acting the part would not be too difficult.

"I said no! Don't you understand when the Pharaoh says no? Are you denying my request? How dare you show such disrespect!" Yugi bellowed, shocking Lilianne. She went to his feet, bowing and begging. "Oh no, I'm so sorry, my love! I'm not going against your wishes at all!" she cried, groveling.

Yugi smiled. This must be how Atemu had felt many times before. Complete dominance. Cool! He wondered if asking for his puzzle back would work...

"I demand that you give my puzzle back to me. Return it to me at once!" Yugi watched her get to her feet and shake her head. "No, my love. I can not. It is still covered in dark spirits. I have to rid the puzzle of these evil spirits before I can give it back to you. Until then, it must remain hidden." she said, her eyes looking directly into his. Yugi narrowed his eyes and grit his teeth. He was sure that his puzzle was the key to destroying the barrier now. That had to be it. Otherwise, why wouldn't she give it back to him? He KNEW there weren't any evil spirits in his puzzle...

Without another word, he turned and went to the bed in the northern room, which was actually the infirmary. When he left Lilianne narrowed her eyes too. 'I will have you back, my husband... I guarantee it...'

* * *

The next morning, Yugi heard the camels groaning and Lilianne yelling at them. He carefully looked out a window and saw that she was going someplace again. Every few days, she would leave and come back with more food and supplies. Yugi watched her go through the barrier as if it wasn't even there. That idiotic dog went with her. Good. Yugi had to search the entire place to find his puzzle before they got back. He had to look without making it appear as if he had. But before he went hunting for his puzzle, he went and checked the barrier. It was strong as ever. This time when he ran into it, he fell backwards on his rump. She probably put more power into it when she left. Oh well.

Yugi tried to think of the places Lilianne may have hidden the golden item. He checked in cupboards, urns, under beds, under crawl spaces, and tapped the walls for secret compartments. Nothing. He dug in the sand, in the dirt around the oasis, looked underwater in the small pond, and even climbed the tree to get onto the roof to look. Still nothing.

Yugi was beginning to feel depressed. He just had to find that puzzle, he just had to! He thought hard. Where else didn't he look yet? His purple eyes scanned the area outside. The camel left behind made a hideous grunt and Yugi snapped his fingers. Of course! The camels! He didn't check this camel yet. He went to the smelly animal's stall and searched all the bags hanging about. Again nothing. That left the camel Lilianne took with her. Maybe it was in that animal's storage bags! Yugi wanted to check as soon as he could when she got back. A disturbing thought came to him. What if it was hidden on that dog? It did have a lot of thick fur that something like a puzzle could easily be hidden in.

Yugi knew he wouldn't be able to check that thing without it trying to attack him and without it making a lot of noise. He decided to worry about that later if he didn't find the puzzle on the second camel. Lilianne came back after night had fallen. Yugi had to race inside when she returned since that monster dog was roaming loose with her. It instantly tried to get him when it came through the barrier and saw him outside. Luckily, Yugi was safely inside by the time it came close. Lilianne screamed at it again and whacked it many times.

Yugi looked out the window near the back door and threatened to kill the monster if she didn't control it better. He meant it too. He was getting sick and tired of being harassed by a dog and being made a fool every time it tried to attack him. As he was yelling, the creature tried to break through the barred window. It scared Yugi rather well and he nearly fell backwards on the table behind him. Lilianne hit the dog again and again. "Death! What is the matter with you? That's Atemu, our Pharaoh! He's god, you stupid dog! Why are you trying to attack a god?" she shrieked, striking the animal a lot. Yugi growled. He didn't care what it took to get rid of that creature, he would just stab the thing to death.

A strong breeze blew by and Yugi saw the saddle bags on the camel flapping open. For a brief moment, he was sure he saw a glint of golden metal in the moonlight. He knew that color and shade anywhere! That had to be the Millennium Puzzle!

He was so busy staring at the saddle bags that he had placed his hands on the window's edge. The dog could easily get at his fingers and it wasted no time snapping at them. Yugi jumped back, startled. Lilianne was now dragging it away by its collar to the camels' stalls. The camel lazily followed her.

Yugi bit his lip. He knew he should wait until later to check that camel, but he couldn't hold himself back. He had to see if the puzzle was in that bag! He quickly went back outside and raced up to the camel. He pulled open the flap of the leather bag and much relief and joy went through him as he saw the puzzle snug inside. The dog noticed Yugi was outside again and went for him right away. Lilianne let out a shriek of surprise both to her dog and Yugi finding the puzzle. "Death, no!" she yelled. "Atemu! Don't touch that!"

Yugi pulled the puzzle out and got onto the camel's back quickly. He ordered it to run towards the small town he had seen on top of the tree. With the dog growling and barking close behind, the camel was frightened and just ran. Lilianne screamed and screamed for Yugi and Death to come back. She quickly got onto the other camel and made it run after them.

Yugi felt like he was reliving the Doma age when he held the puzzle up and with its pointed end facing outwards, he cried, "With this puzzle, I break the seal!" The sound of the barrier breaking sounded like a thousand mirrors shattering. As hard as it was to do with the camel running scared, he put the puzzle around his neck. The town looked like it was far away on top of the tree but with the camel running towards it, it was pretty close after clearing the sand hill. Unfortunately, the camel tripped after going over the hill and both the animal and Yugi fell down the sandy slope.

The camel got up quickly and took off back to Lilianne's house. Yugi went to get up when suddenly the dog grabbed his right leg with its mighty jaws. "AAARRGGGHHH!" he screamed, kicking the thing with his left leg and frantically trying to pull out his knife from his pants pocket. But his leather pants were too tight to let him free his knife. Lilianne caught up a few moments after Death had chewed on Yugi some. "Atemu!" she cried and used strange dark magic to get the dog off him.

Bleeding badly, Yugi struggled to get away from them both. He finally got his knife out at last. He held it out with much aggression. "STAY AWAY! Don't you DARE come near me!" he yelled, very stressed out. He was at last out of the barrier, but he had to get away from that monster dog and crazy witch lady.

"It's alright, Atemu. I'll make everything better. Just come home with me." Lilianne said soothingly, again treating him like he was the crazy one. Yugi was very upset that he couldn't even stand up anymore. He knew was losing a lot of blood from his right leg and he could pass out any minute. Then she would take him back to her home, which was like a prison to him.

"NO! I said stay away! I swear I'll kill you if you don't leave me alone!" Yugi roared, ready to slash and stab. Lilianne seemed to ignore his threat and came closer. "It's alright, just come with me..." she said, holding the dog back with magic. It kept growling and growling in the background.

Yugi heard and felt Atemu deep in his heart summoning something then. It didn't take long and Yugi remembered this chant. Could it be? Suddenly, a bright flash of light lit up the night sky, instantly making it day. A powerful bird-like screech was heard, shaking the sand hills all around. Lilianne was stunned. "R-R-Ra?" she stammered and was too surprised to bow. She also forgot her magical hold on the dog.

The beast sprang to attack Yugi like usual. The golden duel monster god swooped down and slammed a hind claw down onto the animal, killing it. Lilianne couldn't believe it! Her puppy was murdered!

Ra shrieked again and flapped his mighty wings once. It was enough to send Lilianne flying several yards away. Yugi had to shield his eyes since the dragon was so bright. He truly was going to pass out now due to all the blood he had lost. "Help...me...Ra..." Yugi painfully said, reaching for his duel monster. Ra drove his massive claw into the sand under Yugi and carefully picked him up, letting the sand fall through. Gently closing his claws over Yugi, Ra took flight. The dragon roared again and flew away, taking Yugi with him, much to Lilianne's objection. "I'll find you again, my love. You'll see... We're destined to be together forever...!"

* * *

Anzu felt terrible. It was nearly two weeks since Yugi had disappeared. She remembered seeing him collapse after finding Bakura in the temple. Mokuba then tried to get Yugi to wake up too when something weird happened. It was like a blackout for all of them, but when they all came to, Yugi was gone! Of course, they all went looking for him right away. Bakura promised to look as well outside the temple, but he always came back empty-handed. Anzu and Mokuba searched the best they could, but no matter what, there was no sign of him. Anzu did not know how to contact Marik or Isis, so she was pretty much stuck. She kept on looking and checked around a town some distance away. Some helped her look too, but none of it did any good. It was like Yugi disappeared from the face of the earth!

Mokuba felt bad when his brother called on his cel phone and yelled at him for being away from his office so long. "We're trying to find Yugi, Nii-sama. He's-" Mokuba tried to say, but Seto cut him off. "Forget about that fool, Mokuba! I'll deal with him later. You have a job to do! Get back to the USA and take care of your share of Kaiba Corp.! NOW!" He hung up.

Anzu heard the phone call since she was nearby. Mokuba looked very sad. "I'm sorry, Anzu. But we have to go back now. Nii-sama, is very angry with me for staying away so long." Anzu felt hopeless and lost. She just had to find Yugi, but what were the chances now? He was nowhere to be found and she couldn't stay in Egypt all by herself with no money. She would have to go back with Mokuba to the United States, but without Yugi, she not only had no means of financial support, she had no reason to live anymore. She really loved him and now he was gone...

"I'm really sorry..." Mokuba said, placing a hand on her shoulder. Anzu looked at the younger Kaiba and put her hand over his. "Thank you. But can't we just stay one more day to look? Please?" she asked, almost begging. Since Mokuba was a million times kinder than his older brother, he agreed. "Alright. One more day, but then we have to go."

Anzu nodded. "Maybe today is the day..." she said softly. Mokuba looked at her doubtfully and walked back to the tents for supplies. Anzu wandered off on her own without really thinking where she was going. She longed to have Yugi by her side again. She worried about him so much she didn't even think anything about Atemu.

Anzu started to daydream of Yugi's passionate kisses and playful perverted grabs. She began to relive his advances when he found her again for the first time since she left Japan. A huge shadow flying over her didn't give her much time to dwell on her memories. A powerful shriek nearly shattered her eardrums. She looked up and saw the duel monster god Ra! What in the world was he doing here? Only Atemu could summon him! Did this mean...?

Ra flew off towards the town where Anzu asked the people there to help her search for Yugi. It didn't take her long to scream for Mokuba.

"Mokuba! Mokuba! Look! Look! Did you see?" she cried, running to him at the tents. Mokuba came out, holding a canteen of water. "See what?" he asked, confused. Anzu couldn't believe him. Well, maybe he didn't see Ra, but surely he heard the roar of the duel monster god. "Ra! He flew over to that town! Didn't you hear him roaring? I nearly went deaf!"

Mokuba shook his head. "I didn't hear anything, Anzu. Are you sure you really heard and saw the god card monster?" he asked, looking at her critically. The heat must be getting to her.

Anzu was getting very exasperated. "YES! I did hear and see Ra! Only the Pharaoh can summon him! Maybe it's a sign or something! We gotta go see at that town if Yugi's there!" She just had to go to that town, whether or not Mokuba believed her. He sighed and shrugged. "Alright. We'll go to that town then." he said, shaking his head. He did believe Anzu, but it seemed doubtful that her vision meant anything.

Anzu couldn't wait for Mokuba. She began to run off in the direction of the town, but then stopped dead in her tracks. She could barely breathe. Atemu stood a few feet away in front of her, but he was just a faint illusion. When he spoke, Anzu could hear his voice in her head. Don't go this way... Turn around! Hurry, he's in danger! Save him! Then he was gone. Anzu didn't know what to do then.

Mokuba went up behind her and noticed how traumatized she looked. "Anzu, what's wrong?" he asked, worried for her. She felt tears drip down her cheeks. "Something bad has happened to Yugi! I don't know where he is!" she cried, turning around and went running. Mokuba chased after her, trying to stop her. He was sure she was going coo-coo from the heat. "I've got to get you out of here. This heat is making you...crazy..." he said in a low voice.

Anzu yanked her arm free. "No! I'm NOT going crazy! Yugi's in trouble and I have to save him!" she yelled and continued to run off. Her heart nearly leapt out of her chest as she saw someone lying several feet away. She gasped and stopped in complete shock. It was Yugi! She knew his spiky multi-colored hair anywhere. She was about to run to him when a thought came to her. Maybe he was dead! She then was too afraid to go over to him and check. She knew she wouldn't be able to handle it if he was really gone.

Mokuba was next to her then. He looked at her for a moment. "Anzu, we got to go." Then he saw Yugi. "Yugi!" he yelled and ran to him. Anzu's heart beated faster and faster. She didn't want to hear Mokuba tell her what she was dreading. She closed her eyes and tried to block everything out. But she still could hear just the same.

"Yugi! Are you alright? Oh man! What happened to your leg? Yugi! Yugi! Can you hear me? Wake up!" Mokuba yelled, trying to get the man to his feet. He only succeeded in getting Yugi into a sitting position. "Talk to me, Yugi! What in the world happened?" Mokuba shook his shoulder.

In a daze, Yugi shivered with pain and confusion. "It-it was that dog... It tried...to kill me..." Yugi said, his voice raspy. "We got to get you to a hospital right now." Mokuba said and pulled out his cel phone with his free hand. By that time, Anzu heard Yugi talking and had rushed over.

"Yugi! Oh, Yugi!" she cried, latching onto him and hugging him to death. Yugi tried his best to hug her back since he wanted to badly. He missed her so.

"Anzu...I'm sorry...I worried you..." he said, struggling to smile at her. She caressed his face gently. "Shh, everything's alright now. Don't worry, Yugi. Mokuba and I will help you." He held her hand to his face lovingly. "I know you will..." he said and then felt himself blacking out yet again. He collapsed in Anzu's arms. "Yugi!" she cried. Mokuba went ahead and called for some medical help. Then he hoisted one of Yugi's arms over his shoulder. "Come on, Anzu! We got to get him some help now!"

Anzu nodded and pulled Yugi's other arm over her shoulder. "Yes, right away! Hold on, Yugi. You'll be ok." she said softly to her unconscious fiancé. Together, Mokuba and Anzu got Yugi to the jet to fly him to the nearest hospital. Luckily, they weren't far from one and in no time at all, Yugi was getting proper medical care.

When Anzu heard that Yugi needed a blood transfusion very soon, she immediately offered her blood right away. "I can give him my blood!" she told the nurses. "His blood type is AB and mine is O! I can give him my blood! Please, let me help him!" The nurses looked at each other and they nodded. "Come this way, miss. We'll have to test you first and if you can give blood, we will let you." a nurse said, thinking it would be good to salvage their limited blood supply by having Anzu give blood.

After a short wait on the test results, Anzu found herself lying in a bed with an IV in her taking her blood out. She was happy to be in the same room with Yugi as this was happening. Even though all the tubes and wirings on and in him looked scary, Anzu knew he was getting good care and her blood was going to save him.

Mokuba was out at the front desk taking care of all the finer details and paperwork. He was kind enough to take care of such things for people not related to him. Yugi was afterall his brother's employee and Anzu did help Mokuba escape the Rare Hunters back when he was a kid, so he didn't mind helping them. To him, they were family anyway.

Finally, the paperwork was finished and Mokuba tried to take it easy in a nearly deserted waiting room. He checked his watch, feeling exhausted both mentally and physically. It was three fifteen. Closing his grey-blue eyes, Mokuba leaned back in the chair and stretched. Just a few minutes of sleep wouldn't hurt. The next thing he knew was his cel phone beeping its fancy ring tone, waking him. He cringed when he saw it was Seto on the caller ID. He braced himself as he answered. "Nii-sama?"

"Mokuba!" Seto yelled, obviously extremely angry. "Where the hll ARE you! I called you at your office and your secretary told me you didn't come back yet! What are you doing? What's going on?"

Mokuba felt frantic as he tried to explain. "We found Yugi now and he needed a blood transfusion. I-" He checked his watch and gasped. It was nearly seven! How could he sleep that long in a chair? "Oh no! It's so late!" he squeaked, but Seto heard him and was annoyed. "Didn't I TELL you to go BACK to the USA and finish your work! And why in the world would Yugi need a blood transfusion? Like I care to know anyway."

The younger Kaiba held his head, trying to clear his sleep-filled mind. "He said he was attacked by a dog or something. I dunno, he kept passing out." Mokuba said, hoping his brother wouldn't yell at him anymore. Seto laughed scornfully. "A dog? That's ridiculous! Yugi's not the wimp he used to be. No dog could seriously harm him. That's just nonsense. Besides, there's no excuse for you to stay there and babysit Yugi. I'll give you until tomorrow morning to get back to your desk. I need you to be there. Ok?" he demanded very very meanly.

Mokuba nodded, even though Seto couldn't see him. "Ok, Seto. I'll be back there by then. I promise." he said, flipping his long black mane over his shoulder. Seto seemed satisfied then. Mokuba always kept his promises to him. "Alright then. I'll call you tomorrow morning. Bye." The CEO hung up. Mokuba turned his cel phone off and sighed. He would have to leave now to make it back to his office in time before Seto checked up on him again. He didn't want to leave Yugi and Anzu behind, but he could send someone to give them a ride back. Making a few quick calls, Mokuba arranged things to help them leave the country safely.

He went to check on them. Even though he wasn't related to them, he was allowed to see Yugi and Anzu. The Kaiba brothers were rich enough to change the rules anywhere. But before he got to Yugi's room, a strange woman went up to him. She wouldn't let him pass. Mokuba tried to say something along the lines of getting out of the way, but the Egyptian woman held out a cel phone. "Huh?" Mokuba was confused.

"Give this to him." she said and practically shoving the cel phone into Mokuba's gut, causing him to grab it. She whisked away and was gone in seconds. "Hey, wait! Who...are you?" Mokuba gave up asking who she was since she was long gone. He shrugged and looked at the cel phone. After a few moments, he realized it was Yugi's cel phone! When did he lose it? How did that weird woman find it? How did she know Mokuba was with Yugi in the first place in this huge hospital? What was going on here?

Feeling only half-worried, he headed to Yugi's room. He was relieved to see that Yugi was conscious, yet he was still weak. Anzu looked very tired as well. "Hi, Mokuba. What's that?" she asked, sitting up in the bed reading a magazine. Yugi had glanced at Mokuba when he came in and now he was trying to sleep again. Mokuba held up the cel phone. "This? It's Yugi's cel phone."

Yugi's eyes opened in a flash. He stared at Mokuba in horror as he went on. "Some weird Egyptian lady gave it to me. She had on the strangest clothes. Blackish blue robes with red and orange designs. She had a bunch of jewelry, a tiara, and pendants hanging from her neck and get this- a stone staff with a red orb in it! That's some costume. I bet she's visiting some kid for their birthday or something to cheer them up by dressing up fancy like that."

Mokuba and Anzu noticed Yugi's distressed looks. "What's wrong, Yugi?" Anzu asked. The bishie began to shake with dread and anger. "It's _**her**_..." he said in a low voice. Mokuba cocked an eyebrow. "You know this lady?"

Yugi's fists trembled. "She's the one who abducted me...!" he growled. "She had me trapped in a magical barrier for months, that's why you two couldn't find me. She had me hidden away with powerful magic. I wasn't able to tell you what happened when I went to save Atemu..."

Yugi explained to them how Zork was trying to destroy the Pharaoh for good by devouring him and according to his vision from Ryou, he wouldn't exist along with Atemu if that happened. He then told them about how he woke up in Lilianne's home and how the barrier wouldn't let him escape. And he told them about that stupid dog and how it was always trying to attack him for no good reason.

"That's the reason why my leg is all chewed up. Because of that dan dog." Yugi narrowed his eyes in deep hate. "Thankfully, Ra stepped on the wretched thing when I was trying to escape. Atemu summoned him to save me." Yugi held his hands over his heart and closed his eyes, saying softly. "Thank you, other me..."

Anzu felt strange. Not only did the news of this Lilianne make her feel this way, but knowing Atemu was in Yugi again. She wanted to talk to him badly. It seemed Yugi was in control though and she didn't want to upset him by showing any kind of interest in Atemu. Yugi said something about being trapped for months, but she knew he wasn't missing for more than two weeks! She couldn't figure out that part at all.

Yet, as she thought about it and looked at him more, Yugi did look different. His hair was longer, the stiff spikes had grown down past his shoulders and were smooth looking. His skin was tanned a bit too. He appearance resembled Atemu greatly now. She couldn't help but to like that a lot.

Mokuba was a bit confused, but didn't have time to dwell on what Yugi just told him. He gave Yugi his cel phone back then. "That's really crazy what happened, Yugi. I'm really sorry I can't stay. Seto called me again and he's really peeved at me. I have to go back to the United States. But I'm having Roland come for you two to take you back home. He'll be here by tomorrow morning. I'll tell the nurses, the doctor and the security here to not let anyone who looks like Lilianne near you and or Anzu, Yugi. I'll tell them she's a terrorist or something. Well, I really gotta go, it's a long flight back. See ya, guys!"

Yugi knew Mokuba wouldn't be able to do much against Lilianne, so he didn't ask for his help in the first place. He didn't want Mokuba to be in trouble with his touchy older brother. He would just have to wait for Roland to come tomorrow so he could leave. "Thank you, Mokuba. Goodbye." Yugi said simply. "Goodbye, Mokuba! Bye bye!" Anzu waved as the young man left.

Yugi was glad that the Millennium Puzzle was around his neck. Anzu said she had put it around his neck when he was given her blood and told the nurses not to remove it. He clutched the heavy golden item in his hands and felt comforted by its cool smooth touch.

Even though she had given much blood to Yugi, the news of Lilianne had Anzu alert and awake. She had to know more about Atemu's crazy eighth wife. She was dismayed to know Atemu was married to many women, but she figured she should have known better. Pharaohs and kings of the past were known to have many wives to expand their rule.

"So, this Lilianne...did she try anything funny with you...?" Anzu asked carefully, not sure if she wanted to know the answer. Yugi was laying back down again, still holding the puzzle. "Oh yes." he replied with much annoyance. Anzu felt a lump in her throat. Before she could ask what, he went on. "She tried to get me to sleep in her bed almost every other night, she tried to wash me on several occasions even though I told her not to, and she tried to feed me food she chewed up first to make it easy for me to eat. Ugh! She's really crazy and obsessed with me, because she thinks I'm Atemu and her husband. It's so annoying!"

Anzu had to make sure of something. "So, you never did go to bed with her right?" She cringed. How could she ask such an embarrassing shallow question? Sheesh!

Yugi turned his head to look at her. His eyes showed worry and uncertainty. "Of course not! I'd rather die first. I would never betray you like that, Anzu. Never."

Anzu just stared back at him for a while, then she nodded confidently. "Mm. I know you wouldn't, Yugi. You're a very loyal person. I shouldn't have asked such a silly question. I'm sorry." she said and looked away feeling bad. How could she be like this? Doubting Yugi could be the stupidest thing she could do! He was her best friend and now her fiancé. He always helped her no matter what without thinking twice about it. He would never cheat on her. Why did she have to find stupid things to say?

Meanwhile, Yugi was wondering if Anzu was right in asking him such a question. They hadn't seen each other for ten years and probably she may have had many boyfriends. And Yugi had dated Rebecca several times as well. It was an on and off relationship that went on for a long time. They did not spend much time together in bed, it was only a few times. They had kissed and hugged, but it never went any further than that. Yugi did have fun with Rebecca, but she was not for him. He just didn't love her. Anzu was the only one he could love and it would stay that way until he drew his last breath.

He forced away his feeling of contempt for Anzu's question and decided she had every right to ask and make sure. He should be happy that she believed his answers; he heard some women wouldn't believe their lovers' answers even if they were telling the truth.

"It's alright, Anzu. You can feel free to ask me anything you want to ask me. You can confide in me and I will confide in you." he said, using Atemu's exact words. Anzu brought herself to meet his gaze. "Thank you, Yugi. You're so understanding and nice. I don't think there's anyone else in the world who is as kind as you...I love you." she said, meaning every word. Yugi smiled at her. "I love you too, Anzu. So very much." he said warmly, his gentle voice sending much happiness through her.

Anzu had the urge to hug and kiss him then. After telling her his feelings in that way, how could she not hug and kiss him to pieces? Now was a perfect time with much privacy. Still weak and dizzy from giving blood, she carefully got out her bed and made her way over to him. Smiling at each other as she made her short trip across the room, they hugged and hugged. "I missed you so much..." Anzu said, kissing him affectionately. He returned her kisses with great passion. "I missed you even more...Even with Atemu inside me, I felt so alone without you..." he whispered in her hair, breathing in her scent.

Yugi held her to himself tightly as if he needed her to survive and it was true. He knew he couldn't live without her, he cared too much for her. Anzu wanted to ask about Atemu, but was afraid to since she was sure she would mess up in saying something that would hurt Yugi's feelings and give him the wrong idea. She knew he was touchy about her liking Atemu. But now, she wasn't as crazy for him anymore like before. She tried to think of why and guessed that Yugi was so much like Atemu now, that he easily took over the Pharaoh's spot in her heart. Yugi was even tanned a little now, adding to his Atemu-likeness.

Anzu realized suddenly that she saw Yugi as Atemu and accepted only Yugi now. It was like HE was Atemu instead. Weird.

Yugi did say she could confide in him, meaning it would be ok to ask him about anything. She would ask about Atemu carefully. She did not want to say she didn't have the hots for the Pharaoh as much anymore since it was unbelievable to herself even. She doubted Yugi would seriously believe her. She didn't even believe herself! But it was true.

"So...how is he? Atemu, I mean... Zork didn't rough him up too bad, did he?" she asked, wondering if that was the wrong way to ask about the Pharaoh's well being. The expression Yugi gave her worried her so. He sighed and looked away. "I thought he was going to die and disappear from existence. Zork crushed every bone in his body and after I touched him, he disappeared. I thought I got there too late and he was gone for good. Then Zork crushed **my** bones and I passed out. I woke up in Lilianne's house and was stuck there for months."

Anzu knew she had to ask about that time difference thing. "Wait. You keep saying you were gone for months, but Mokuba and I were looking for you for about two weeks. Bakura helped for one week, but then he went back home. At least, that's what he said before he left. Anyway, it was only two weeks, not months." she said.

Yugi shook his head. "I suppose time passed differently in that magical barrier Lilianne kept me trapped in. Atemu said she's very dangerous though. She better not be following me..." he said, an angry expression on his face. Anzu gave him a quick kiss to calm him. "Don't worry, Mokuba said he would tell the hospital staff to not let her come near you. You'll be alright. If she tries anything weird, I'll kick her butt! Living in New York isn't a walk through the park, you know. I learned some good fighting tactics living around there." Anzu did some mock karate moves, trying to be funny. "Hi-YAH!"

Yugi smiled. "Thank you, Anzu." he said, softly. Then he looked like he was having difficulty deciding something. Anzu noticed his pained look. "What's wrong, Yugi?" she asked, curious and worried. He sighed sadly. "I suppose I shouldn't be selfish... I trust you anyway..." he said, almost whispering now.

Anzu was really baffled. "Huh? Selfish? Yugi, you're not selfish. I know you trust me. What's up?" She was getting scared now. What in the world was he thinking?

Yugi sighed again. "I'll let you talk to Atemu... He's your friend as much as he is mine... I know you want to talk to him..." he said, struggling not to let his tears fall. Anzu felt a lightning bolt of shock and excitement go through her. Memories of the times before Atemu was banished rushed back to her. Like the time she went with him to that arcade where Johnny Steps challenged her to the dance game and she won. Atemu got to see that... And after that she went to the museum with him and discovered he was an ancient pharaoh from three thousand years ago and they met Isis for the first time. Those things happened the same day they went on their first date together. She really enjoyed that day.

Atemu was more than her friend back then, she had a crush on him. But he did not seem to notice anything like that. He was struggling to remember who he was and had succumbed to evil even. When Dartz had ordered Raphael to kidnap Rebecca's grandfather, Yugi went to save him. But he didn't need to since Rebecca's grandpa was released and he came back on his own. Atemu dueled Raphael and had lost, because he allowed the evilness of the Oricalcos to control his mind. Yugi told Anzu all this, since she wasn't there. Yugi also told her how Atemu took all the evils of Atlantis onto his shoulders and he harbored all the evilness within him, like how Dartz did. He did it to free Dartz and Yugi was sure Atemu was strong enough to keep all that wickedness dormant.

Anzu believed all this since she trusted Yugi. She knew deep down inside that Atemu wasn't in love with her and probably never would be. He wasn't even a living person anymore. He only lived within Yugi and she had a feeling he would have to return to the underworld eventually. So, she pushed away her pathetic hopeful feeling of puppy-love and snuggled Yugi.

"Yes, I do want to talk to him, but Yugi," Anzu paused to look him straight in the eyes. "I want you to know that my heart belongs to you now and...it'll stay that way. I...actually don't like Atemu as much as I used to... You've taken his place in my heart, Yugi. You saved me from a miserable existence and protect me. You have proven yourself over and over to me. So, you don't have to worry about anything." she said seriously. Yugi looked very surprised at first, then relieved and very happy.

"Anzu...thank you so much..." Yugi said gratefully, happy tears in his eyes now. Such an emotional bishie he was! Cutie! .

"Alright, I'll go get him now." he said and closed his eyes, searching his heart. Anzu watched carefully. She could see a difference in him as he opened his eyes again. "Ah, Anzu. It's good to see you again. You wanted to talk to me?" Atemu asked, his voice the same as Anzu remembered it. She wiped the corners of her eyes. She had missed him.

"Atemu!" she cried and hugged him hard. He gently patted her back, not much affection being shown on his part. "I missed you..." she said, having a hard time stopping her puppy-love feelings from resurfacing. He said nothing, making her feel like a dork a bit. Didn't he miss her?

She pulled away and grinned, mentally criticizing herself. Was she smiling too weird? Did she sound stupid? Why wasn't he saying much? Atemu looked away, like someone was watching him. Of course, Yugi was watching. He trusted Anzu, but he didn't trust his aibou nearly as much. Atemu had lied to him, put him down, and pretty much bullied him too many times before. He was going to make sure Atemu didn't do anything with Anzu.

"How do you feel? Are you alright?" Anzu asked, his silence making her very unsure of herself. Surely she must have done or said something wrong, but what? Maybe her appearance was not up to standards. She didn't get brush her hair much today...

Atemu looked at her for a second, then diverted his gaze elsewhere. "I'm starting to feel much better healing in Yugi's heart. I'll be able to return to the underworld soon. I'm sorry, Anzu. I just don't have much to say..." he admitted, trying to ignore Yugi's constant staring and watching. Atemu did not want to anger his aibou. He was pretty guilty for the times he was bad to him and now it was Yugi who was in control. Atemu truthfully didn't have anything to say to her anyway. It had been too long. He did remember the times he spent with her, but it did not spark any kind of love interest in his heart. He noticed her hints from the times before, but he did not want to make her sad with a rejection. He decided it was best to go back to healing.

"I must go. I'm sorry, Anzu." he said and in a second, Yugi was back. Anzu was very unsure of herself like crazy. She must have done something wrong. Atemu seemed withdrawn and unfriendly. What did she do wrong? Wasn't he her friend anymore? Had they grown apart?

"Anzu, I-" Yugi started to say, but there was a sudden loud commotion outside the door. A lot of yelling and stuff being thrown about. "What the...?" Anzu muttered, confused as Yugi. The door swung open and entered a woman with nurses trying to stop her. "Atemu! I have been fighting with these fools for hours trying to get you released from here! They just WON'T listen!" Lilianne complained.

"Miss, you can't be in here! Mr. Kaiba has ordered us to not let you in here! You must leave immediately or we'll be forced to call security!" a skinny nurse cried, trying to pull her back out in the hallway. Even the beefy nurse was having trouble restraining the nutty woman. "Madam, you have to leave now! Let's go!"

Lilianne tossed them off with astonishing power and headed towards Yugi. "I told you to stay away from me, didn't I?" the bishie yelled, very agitated. Lilianne shook her head. "Oh no, those demons have really brainwashed you, my dear! Come home with me. I can heal you."

"NURSE! GET THIS WOMAN AWAY! She's trying to abduct me!" Yugi yelled, struggling to sit up despite his wounded leg. Lilianne looked angry then. "Atemu, how can you blatantly refuse your own wife like this? I rescued and saved your life! And this is how you repay me?" she cried, getting louder and louder.

Anzu stood in front of Yugi with her fists up. "He's NOT your husband, you wacko! He's my fiancé! If you know what's good for you, you'll get out of here while you can!" she said, annoyed with her. The nerve!

Lilianne simply flipped her wrist at Anzu, sending her flying all the way to the other side of the room. "ANZU!" Yugi cried, trying to see where she landed. Groaning, Anzu got to her knees and glared at Lilianne. The nurses all rushed off to get security right away. Yugi sneered at the evil lady. "How DARE you hurt her!" he growled, his pretty purple eyes narrowed into thin slits. Lilianne looked shocked and even more angry. "What do you mean? She's a harlot trying to steal you away from me! Just like how Karalin tried to!"

Suddenly, Yugi felt Atemu take control and sent back a very fiery rebuttal. "She NEVER tried to steal me away from you! There was nothing to steal in the first place! I loved Karalin because she was my first! I wasn't FORCED to marry her like I had to be with you! Lilianne, there was a BIG reason why I personally executed your death back then! Your idiotic jealousy! Another was because I never loved you!"

Lilianne was in so much in shock, that she was knocked into silence. Breathing hard, Atemu stared her down. "We are NOT destined to be together in our new lives! Great Horus, I never even got to my new body yet! My aibou is helping me return to the underworld so I can continue my journey, but you're making it hard on him by harassing him! I am sick of you bothering my aibou! By the hand of Ra, if you stay here another minute, I'll mind crush you into oblivion! Death will not be far behind as well!"

Lilianne couldn't believe what she was hearing! Atemu didn't love her? He was forced to marry her? He wanted to kill her again? How could he hate her so much? Why, she was the best cup bearer there ever was! Didn't that count for anything? Those questions swirled around in her head continuously. Confused and silent still, she left in a daze. She didn't know, but she had snapped even more and slowly would return with a vicious vengeance that she normally would not do in her previous state.

Retreating back to Yugi's heart, Atemu did his best to calm himself and his aibou. Yugi held his head, appearing to have a headache, but really Atemu was trying to comfort him. Anzu got to her feet and went to his side. "Yugi? Atemu? Are you alright? Are you having a headache? What's wrong?" she asked, but he waved her away. She guessed his head must be hurting and went looking for a nurse to give him some medicine.

When Anzu and the nurse came into the room, Yugi refused the medicine. "No, I'm alright. Really." he assured them. The nurse shrugged. "Ok, if you say so. Security has removed that woman from the hospital now, so you don't have to worry about her anymore." Yugi sighed. "Thank you. I would like to get some rest now."

The nurse nodded and then tried to make Anzu leave. Yugi's angry refusal scared the nurse into letting Anzu stay then. She left in a hurry after finishing a few tasks in the room. Feeling bad for being so brash, Yugi slammed the sides of his fists into the bed. "Kuso!" he growled and layed back in a huff. "I didn't mean to snap at her..." he said softly.

Anzu consoled him, gently caressing his handsome face. "It's alright, Yugi. I'll explain it to her, don't worry. Let's try to get some sleep. When that Roland guy comes tomorrow, we can go back." she said, massaging his shoulder then. Yugi shook his head. "No, we can't go back until I return the other me, er, I mean Atemu to the underworld... He said bad things will happen if he stays here. I have to get him back where he belongs." the pretty bishie said. Anzu understood. "Ok, but how? Did he say how to do it?" she asked.

Yugi shook his head again. "No, but I'm thinking I should call Marik and Isis. Maybe they know how. Let's sleep now. Here." He moved over and patted the empty spot next to him. The hospital bed was unusually large or maybe it was because Yugi was so slender. Anzu smiled and giggling, she climbed in beside him. The wiring and tubes made it hard for her to snuggle him like usual, so she turned around and he hugged her from behind.

Instantly, she felt his hands clutching her breasts. Instead of scolding him, she welcomed his strong squeezes and smiled. She immensely enjoyed being with Yugi again like this. His hands were always so good at exciting her body, it was amazing. She missed this wonderful fondling. But she was too tired to react sexually, instead she fell asleep even with him feeling her up.

After getting his fill of finally feeling his fiancée again, Yugi drifted off into a partially satisfied sleep. He had wished for sex then, but even he was too tired and his leg was in no shape to take on any bucking. Having Anzu in his arms as he slept was a good feeling.

**To Be Continued onto Chapter 3! Coming in Ch3: How will Atemu return to the underworld? And when would they return to New York? This and much more!**


	3. Even more trouble

No Longer Little Ch.3

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All Yu-Gi-Oh! characters are copyright of Kazuki Takahashi and Konami.

Author Note: This is a sweet romantic-ish ficcy of Yugi and Anzu (Tea). Anzu goes to New York to start her dancing career but doesn't make it. She falls on hard times with depression and is forced to become a stripper instead to support herself. Too ashamed to contact her friends from high school, she is alone until Yugi finds her about ten years later. No longer is he a "Little Yugi" but rather a Yugi that is like Yami Yugi though even better since he surpassed him years before (see last episodes of the anime and manga). A great ficcy for those who love hetero hardcore romance and Yugi X Anzu lemon stuffs. :) R/R, please no flames! If you don't like Anzu or Yugi, just don't read this then. I don't want hateful reviews / flames from those who don't even like these characters.  
Also see the fic scene fanart piccys for this fic series at my website http / www. alaer art. com and http / alaer. deviant Art. com! (remove all the spaces) Enjoy!

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No Longer Little

Chapter 3

The first thing Yugi did the next morning was to call Marik and Isis. He explained to them what happened and even about Lilianne. Marik told Yugi to meet him at their home right away. Isis would need to look at his heart and determine certain things first. Yugi agreed. Anzu was freshening up at that time and was ready to go back to New York when Yugi told her they were going to Marik's home first.

Anzu wasn't too crazy for Marik since he and his yami had possessed her. She was sure Mai pretty much hated him too. She probably disliked him even more than Anzu did. Luckily, traveling by plane courtesy of Roland made the trip there quick and easy. He even went along in the taxi to the Ishtars' home to help Yugi, who was on crutches, to the front door. Anzu was surprised to see that Marik, Isis, and Rishid all lived in the same home together. True, the house was a mansion, but still. A five year old little girl greeted them as soon as Rishid opened the door. "Uncle Yu-Yu!" she cried and tugged on his leather pants hard. "Sekhmet, what did your father tell you about manners?" Rishid asked and the little girl pulled her hands back and hid them behind herself. "To keep your hands to yourself. Sorrieee..." she said, then ran back into the house screaming like a crazy happy nut. "Heheee!"

Rishid looked apologetic. "I'm sorry about her. She has some issues." he said, turning his head. Sekhmet had somehow climbed up high and was swinging from a very strong light fixture like a monkey. She also made monkey sounds. "Oh dear. Sekhmet, get down from there!" Rishid said. Just then Isis and Marik came and Sekhmet fell into her father's arms. "DADDIEEEEEEEE!" she squealed. Marik hugged her and scolded her. "How many times I told you not to do that?"

"A million times! And I promise I'll do it again!" she said happily and wiggled free. She ran off screaming again. Marik sighed. "I don't think I want another..." he said softly, then Rishid announced that Yugi was there. "Master Marik, Yugi Mutou is here." he said, a complete butler. Marik patted his shoulder. "Thank you for getting the door, Rishid."

Roland made himself known. "Hello, where do I wait at? I am to take Yugi Mutou home as soon as possible." he said. Another servant appeared. "I will take you to a waiting room, sir." she said and took Roland away.

Isis bowed slightly to Yugi. "Welcome Yugi. Anzu." she said, looking at them each. Then she looked at Yugi again. "And...the Pharaoh?" Yugi nodded. "Yes, he's with me. Do you need him to come out and talk?"

Isis shook her head. "If he really did receive that much damage from that demon, then no, not now. Allow him to rest in your heart. Come, I will examine you and then I can tell you how to return him to the underworld. Rishid, take Anzu to the kitchen and give her something to drink. It's hotter today than usual. Brother, come with me. I must teach you what I'm about to do."

Rishid nodded and herded Anzu to the kitchen as Marik went with Isis to another part of the house. Marik helped Yugi get there as painlessly as possible. Anzu felt bad for Yugi's wounded leg. It must be hard. Rishid helped Anzu to a chair and asked her what she would like to have to drink. "Grape juice, if you have any." she said, looking around the fancy kitchen. It looked like a kitchen you'd find in a million dollar home! She marveled over the beauty and wondered what Yugi's house would look like. She figured it must be in Japan. She realized once she got there, it would be her house too. If it had a kitchen like this, she could die happy.

"Certainly. Here you go." Rishid pretty much instantly fulfilled her request. Anzu liked this service. "Anything else, miss?" he asked, waiting. "Um, what's there to eat? I'm a little hungry." Rishid, like a robot, told her all the choices of food in the fridge. She couldn't believe her ears! Some many choices! Yet, no meat choices. Oh yeah, she forgot. Marik was a vegetarian. "I guess a tomato sandwich would be nice." she said. It took Rishid less than five minutes to make the sandwich from fresh sliced tomatoes and even warmed the bread for her.

"Anything else?" he asked again. "No, that's ok." she said, very pleased. Rishid hurried away then. "I'll go check on Master Marik and Isis now. Enjoy your stay, miss." he said and was gone. Like on cue, a giggle was heard. Anzu looked and looked and then saw Sekhmet hiding behind a large urn. "Hehehe. Hello." Anzu said, being friendly. The little girl grinned devilishly and rocked her body shyly. "Hewo, pretty lady! You know Uncle Yu-Yu?" she asked, coming over and climbing onto the table.

Anzu smiled. "Yes I do. He's my fiancé. I'm going to marry him someday. Are you allowed to sit on the table like you're doing now?" she asked, figuring out that this little girl was a naughty kid. Sekhmet's grin grew wider. "...Yes..."

Anzu shook her head. "I highly doubt that. Come on, sit in this chair next to me." she said, pulling her down into a chair to her right. Sekhmet let her and giggled. "Marry Uncle Yu-Yu? That's neat! How many babies are you going to have?" she asked, her bright light purple eyes full of swirly spunk. Anzu had a sweatdrop form on her head. "Eh, you shouldn't be thinking like that. Where's your mommie?"

Sekhmet blew a raspberry at her. "She's upstairs sleeping! She says I make her tired, hehehee!" Anzu could see how, this kid was a hell-raiser. Somehow, Sekhmet had returned her rump to the table again. Anzu sighed. Rishid appeared then, followed by Isis, Marik, and Yugi.

"Why you bad little kid! I told you not to sit on the table!" Rishid cried and rushed over to remove her. Sekhmet shrieked instantly on purpose. "WAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHH! AAAGGGGGGGRRRRRHHHH!" she screamed, faking sobs.

Marik went over and took his child. He promptly whacked her on the butt. "Stop your protests and disrespectful behavior! Do you want me to tell Ra how you're acting? Stop it now!" he said firmly. Sekhmet didn't mind the spanking and happily escaped. "Go tell stinky Ra to go shove it!" she said, defying her father's threats.

Rishid, Marik, and Isis were horrified by her behavior. She had been defiant before, but not like this! Sekhmet giggled and giggled. Her giggle was cut short as Atemu's strong authoritative voice reprimanded her. "Do not mock the gods, Sekhmet! Take heed to your father's commands and all those older than you! Misbehaving is a fool's game. Come outside, I will show you Ra."

Anzu eyed Yugi, now Atemu, with much attention. She would like to talk to him still as a friend at least. But that even looked doubtful. Feeling left behind, she watched Atemu take Sekhmet outside to summon Ra to show her. Rishid and Marik went along too. Isis stayed in the kitchen with Anzu. She looked at her with knowing eyes.

"I can see you long for our Pharaoh." she said simply. Anzu shook her head. "Oh, no noo, it's not like that. He's only a friend, really. Yugi's the one I care for." she said, not understanding why she felt like she should defend herself like that. She didn't need to sound so frantic. Isis closed her eyes with a smile. "It is alright. Many have loved the Pharaoh, but he is the type who does not return love so easily. Some think it is because he is conceited, but he is not. He is overwhelmed by all his troubles and memory loss. And he does not belong here, that alone conflicts with his normal behavior."

Anzu still felt like she had to make up excuses for her eyeing Atemu then. "I like him as a friend now. He just doesn't act like the same person I remember from before. That's why I was looking at him." she said, her sandwich and drink gone. Isis nodded. "It's true, he is not the same. He was supposed to go onto his new life and obtain his new body, but as he told me, the demon Zork has risen again and tried to destroy him. Because of that, he is not himself. He must return to the underworld and finish his journey to his new life. I have instructed him how to proceed there safely. He must go back to the Valley of the Kings and chant a certain inscription. But he must do this very soon. I am unsure how much time he has left, but I am guessing if he does not return within three days, he will be permanently lost in limbo forever within Yugi."

Anzu thought that over. Atemu stuck in Yugi forever? Hmmm... No! She mustn't be selfish! Besides, she finally got over being without Atemu. She didn't need to screw that up, that was hard enough to get over as it was! She would do everything in her power to help return Atemu to where he belonged.

Isis then asked her if she had any children and Anzu said no. Isis went on telling her about her son, who was studying upstairs in a sound proof room. Anzu had a friendly conversation with Isis. It was a nice talk that she never got to experience much. Sally was a great friend, but she was too boisterous at times. Isis was calm and very normal and easy to talk to, just like the many years before. Anzu liked her a lot and promised she would talk to her on the phone in the future. Isis smiled and nodded.

Moments later, the men came back inside with a very awe-struck, blown away scared little girl. "Daddy, I'll never misbehave again." she said softly, her eyes big and round. No longer ignorant, Sekhmet wandered off to her mother's room to apologize for her naughtiness. Marik shook Yugi's hand.

"Thank you, Yugi. It's taken me endless days trying to get her to understand the importance of respect. I can't thank you enough." he said gratefully. Rishid was equally grateful. "Yes, she's very hard to handle. Hopefully, things will be different from now on. At least I hope so."

Yugi shifted his weight so he could balance well on one crutch to wave his hand. "Don't thank me. It was my aibou's idea. Well, I better go drop him off back to the underworld." Marik nodded. "Yes, return him to where he belongs. Nothing is worse for us Egyptians to be lost in limbo. And twice even, that's truly unthinkable. Best of Ra's luck to you." he said, patting Yugi gently on the shoulder. "Un! Thank you all very much. You have been all so kind. Let's go, Anzu."

Quickly, she got to her feet and helped Yugi to the front door. Rishid quickly got Roland and called a taxi. Then he helped Yugi into the taxi waiting outside. Roland and Anzu got in as well. "Please let us know what happens, Yugi." Isis said. Yugi assured her that he would. As the taxi pulled away, Anzu felt strange like how she did when Atemu was first banished. It was happening all over again. But this time, she almost didn't mind seeing him go. She had her new Atemu sitting next to her.

* * *

It seemed like an unreal dream flying back to the Valley of the Kings and seeing Yugi stand before the door to the underworld. He let Atemu take control and he chanted in an eerie tongue. In no time, the door opened and Anzu saw a watery vision pull away from Yugi and enter the door. The door closed and that was it. No fancy duel, no last goodbyes, no nothing!

It was like it didn't even happen! It happened so fast, Anzu couldn't believe it. It brought back bad memories of before, but this was worse than the first time. It was almost like Atemu couldn't wait to get back to the underworld. Like he didn't care about his friends! No, that couldn't be. He didn't belong in this world. It was no good for him to be back in limbo so it's understandable why he wanted to go back to the underworld. He had to.

Roland flew them obediently to New York, so Anzu could pick up her things and such. Yugi told Roland to just go back to Japan then without them since he didn't want to use him, but Roland insisted he would take them back to Japan whenever they were ready to return free of charge. Yugi told Roland he would call him when he was ready to go back home and then the Kaiba employee left. Yugi and Anzu went back to the hotel and as if by magic, Sally and Brian were at the front desk.

"Hey, wow! You go to this hotel too? Brian and I picking out which hotels are the best to stay in- good gooblie goo! What happened to you?" Sally cried, seeing Yugi on crutches. Brian began to shriek like a girl. "Ohhh noooo! You have a broken leg, don't you? Oh good cream pies noooo!" he sobbed.

Yugi was trying to back up away from them. "Who are you people?" he asked, getting fairly wary of strange people now. They could be Lilianne's spies or something. Anzu tried to introduce her friend's boyfriend to Yugi, but it was hard since the big guy wouldn't stop whimpering and Sally was trying to console him. "Yugi, this is my friend Sally from that stupid club I used to work at and this guy is Brian from another better club."

"Oh man, I can't believe you've got a busted leg! How are you going to dance at my club in a few days? We're doomed! We made reservations and everything! King of Games comes to the Hot Spot, but now it's a no show? Those loan sharks are going to **_kill_ **me! I'm soooo dead!" Brian whimpered more. Sally patted his shoulder. "Don't worry, Brian-baby-boo! Yugi can still sing for us. You can sing for us, right?"

Yugi stared at them. "What in the world are you talking about? I don't know anything about singing, dancing, or anything in any clubs! Anzu, did you..?" he asked, feeling trapped. If people asked him for favors, he would help, even if it was inconvenient for him. Anzu waved her hands at him. "No, no! I didn't start anything with them! I actually tore up the business card he gave me..." she whispered secretly. Brian was still wailing and didn't hear her.

Sighing, Yugi gave in. "Alright, I'll make an appearance at your club. Where is it? I don't think I can dance, but I can sing and duel people." Brian's tears disappeared. "Really? Oh thank you, thank you, man!" he happily said and actually kissed Yugi on the cheek. Immediately, Yugi swiped at him with a fist and lost his balance, falling on the nearby chairs. Brian begged for forgiveness and tried to help him to his feet, which Yugi refused.

"I'm so sorry man! I didn't know you'd take it so bad! Don't worry, if you have any medical bills, I'll pay for them! Please don't sue me!" Brian wailed. Yugi finally was back on his crutches. "I'm not going to sue you. Sheesh. I just don't like guys kissing me, that's all..." he said, eyeing him cautiously. 'He better not hit on me like Bakura used to in high school! Oh please, no! I don't think I can go through that yaoi torture again!'

For a moment, everyone stood in awkward silence, looking at one another. "So..." Yugi began. "Where's your club at again?" Brian pointed to Anzu. "That chickie's got my card." he said, grinning. His derogatory remark about Anzu made Yugi frown and growl under his breath. Anzu didn't want to hurt Brian's feelings by admitting she tore up his card and kinda lost the pieces to it. "I-uh..." Anzu started to say, but Sally interrupted. "Oh Brian-poopsie! Just give him his own card! You got like a million of those anyway. Hehee!"

Brian whacked his head playfully. "Duh! You're right, Sally-baby. Here ya go, sport!" He proudly gave Yugi a card much to Anzu's dismay. She didn't want Yugi singing or doing anything at that club where hussies could get him. She would have to go along and protect him. "I'm coming too!" she shouted, drawing much attention to herself. A lady from the front desk even looked up. Anzu felt like a dork instantly.

Sally waved a hand at her. "Oh, you! Of course you're coming! Anyone who's anyone is coming now. Isn't that right, Brian-honey-sweetie-pie?" she gushed. Brian gushed back. "Yesh it is, Sally-wally-baby-sweetie-pinkie-do!" Yugi had to hide his face, this was too funny. Anzu felt happy hearing and seeing Yugi chuckle. 'He needs to laugh again, it's good for him.' she thought with a soft smile. She began admiring him. Even injured, he was still the sexiest thing on two legs.

She was jarred out of her perverted thoughts when Sally asked her something. "Eh, huh, what?" Anzu blinked. Sally giggled. "Anzu, sister! Are you asleep over there? I just asked you what you're going to wear. The presentation is in three days. Wear something really hot. Oh, Brian-honey! It's late, we still gotta mail more invitations out! Quick, quick!" Brian let her drag him away. "Ok, ok! See ya laters!"

Once out of ear-shot, Yugi let out a loud sigh. "Those friends of yours are kinda strange, Anzu..." he said, hobbling to the front desk to book a new room. Anzu helped him with much love . "Brian seems to be the best for Sally. They match well. Kinda like you and me." she said, snuggling against him carefully so she wouldn't push him off balance.

Yugi laughed deep in his throat, a sexy laugh Anzu loved greatly. "Yes, we do match well." he said, smiling. He set one crutch against the front desk and put his arm around her, holding her close. "My dream come true..." he purred softly in her ear, followed by a seductive lick. "Y-Yugi..!" she trilled, pulling apart a tad to give him a mock look of being shocked. She layed her head against his chest again, grinning and grinning. She hugged him sideways. She felt sooo happy! "I love you, Yugi."

His shameless perverted grab and squeeze to her rump caused her to gasp in embarrassment. He grabbed really deep past her legs there... And in public! "Yugi! You're so sick!" she hissed, scolding him. The playful gleam in his eyes made her anger melt away much to annoyance. Why couldn't she stay mad at him?

Finally the lady at the desk handed Yugi his new room key and the two headed to the elevator. Anzu pushed the 'UP' button and waited. Thankfully the hotel's staff had delivered their stuff to the new room, orders from Roland. The elevator door opened and Anzu helped Yugi in. Even though he didn't really need all this help from her, he enjoyed it since it showed him that she cared for him. She stayed close to him, his everlasting fondness for her growing even stronger. He put his arm around her again, like how he did at the front desk and got her to look at him. No words were needed as they kissed passionately, slowly building up a fresh fiery desire between them.

Anzu felt his hand slipping past under her jeans, his fingers grazing over her rump. His strong hand clutched her right rump cheek and pulled her upwards, pressing her groin closer against his. "Oh, Anzu, you don't know how much I missed you..." he whispered lustfully, kissing and nibbling. The pained tone in his voice alerted Anzu instantly. He really was in the mood, she could tell that easily. His body screamed for her love and so did hers...

Anzu slid her hand down from his chest to his groin. Cupping the swelled area, she massaged slowly, but firmly. Yugi purred and moaned with deep abandon in the side of her neck as she worked on him efficiently. "Ohhh, yesss, Anzu! Uhhh...uhhh... Ohhh...Mmmm...Ahhhh...!" he groaned, his hips starting their pleasure motion. But after a few joyful moments, the bucking was too hard on his injured leg. "Ahhh-ahhh!" he gasped, grabbing onto the railing beside him before losing his balance. "Kuso, this stupid wound! Argh!" Yugi growled, upset to be deprived of sweet pleasure. He was almost at the breaking point too!

Anzu felt bad for him. "Don't worry, Yugi. I'll treat you to a nice long tongue-bath like last time." she said, trying to cheer him up. Yugi shook his head, still very distraught. "I appreciate that, Anzu. But right now...it felt so good...so very good... And then another reminder of what that f-ing dan dog did to me..."

She stroked his face. "Try to calm down, you'll be fine." she assured him. Yugi looked away, completely disappointed because his injured leg had messed everything up. Then he realized something. "Anzu, why isn't this elevator letting us off?" he asked, putting sudden dread through her. "It's not moving..."

She looked about and could tell the elevator wasn't moving at all. "Yeah... It's stopped. I wonder why the doors haven't opened. I-" She let out a shriek when there was a loud creaking and bang. The elevator's lights went out and it felt like it was wobbling! "Yugi!" Anzu cried, distressed. Yugi grit his teeth. Something was seriously wrong here!

When the elevator wobbled again, Yugi realized they had to get out of there. Now! Using one of his crutches, he threw it up towards the emergency top door, popping it open. He picked up Anzu and threw her up into the opening, despite his leg protesting. She climbed up and reached down for him. Luckily, he was a light man and she didn't kill herself pulling him up. They both saw something was wrong with the cables and that they were breaking off. The elevator was slipping past a door opening to the sixteenth floor. There was another loud snap and bang, then a whipping sound. Yugi jumped for the sixteenth floor door ledge, grimacing in pain.

Anzu had to leap after him and she grabbed onto his legs, causing him great anguish. His loud scream brought guilty tears to her eyes. The elevator's cables broke and it went plummeting down the dark shaft. "I'm sorry! I'm sorry!" she cried, as she tried to climb up so she would be hanging on his shoulders instead. His tormented restrained whimpers of agony made her sob uncontrollably. "I'm SO sorry, Yugi! I-I..didn't mean to!" she sobbed.

"It's-it's alright, A-Anzu... Y-you h-had to..." he whispered in a teary suffering voice. Struggling to hold onto the ledge, Yugi could feel his fingers going terribly numb. "Ah! I d-don't think I c-can't hold on m-much longer...!" he cried, growling. Anzu was filled with terror. "No! Oh, please, Yugi! Don't let go!"

Anzu had her eyes squeezed shut as she cried, but opened them as a bright light glowed at Yugi's left thigh. A purple and blue ball of light floated about them and then they formed into Duel Monsters! "Black Magician Girl?" Anzu squeaked in surprise, then she cried out as BMGirl picked her up off Yugi. They floated off a bit as Black Magician picked up Yugi. "Black...Magician?" he asked, dazed with pain.

Black Magician held Yugi with one arm and with his free hand, he pointed his spiral designed staff at the door opening. The thick steel protector doors opened like they were under normal operations. The monsters carefully placed the lovers into the safety of the hallway. We will always protect you, Master. The Magicians both said in unison and shimmered out of view.

Anzu helped Yugi to his feet, allowing him to use her as a supportive structure to lean against. "We could have died!" she cried, shaking and crying hard. Yugi was emotionally and physically injured. "Yes...and I think someone wanted to make sure that we did..." he said, his now rising rage boiling inside him. It had to be Kevin's doing or Lilianne's work. It just had to be!

* * *

After the elevator incident, Yugi went to a different hotel immediately. He made sure no one knew that he was leaving the old one nor entering the new one. He and Anzu covered themselves with a lot of robes and put on heavy make-up to make it look like Anzu was a man with bushy mustache and Yugi was a woman with fluffy blonde hair. That's how desperate they were to hide their identities. Surely either Lilianne or Kevin was watching them somehow. Yugi was sure it was Lilianne though. He was sure Kevin didn't have the patience to beat around the bush like that and not gloat while he's trying to do them in.

Anzu had a hard time not giggling as Yugi kept fixing the stockings on his legs, which she had gently put on him so as to not hurt his injured leg. He was pawing through the wig's long strands, trying to see through the crazy mess and his own blonde bangs. Anzu had to blot his lips since he put on too much lipstick. She did his eye shadow and mascara perfectly, she felt prideful of her work. She thought he was rather pretty looking and had fun doing his make-up. His masculinity was suffering great shame, but he would swallow his manly pride and endure it to escape Lilianne.

It seemed better to use taxis than Kaiba Corp rentals since Lilianne could track Yugi down if he used the same car over and over. This had to end. He thought Atemu got through to that thick-headed insane Lilianne, but he guessed he was wrong. Thankfully, it looked like no one was following them or paying much attention to them at all. It was a good idea of his to disguise themselves. Finally in the new hotel, Yugi threw off that itchy wig, washed off the make-up, and then pulled off Anzu's tight red cocktail waitress dress. Socks dropped from his chest as he squeezed out of that dress. Taking some pain killers, Yugi wished the medicine would kick in soon. In only his boxers, he literally dropped dead onto the bed, groaning irritably. He laid there, trying to fade away. He was so tired and his leg was on fire with pain.

Anzu joined him in a few moments after changing her clothes and washed off her fake facial hair made with make-up. She had on a tank top and shorts. Laying close, Anzu snuggled against him. He put an arm under her head and placed his hand on her bare shoulder, feeling her soft skin. She felt bad seeing him this way. Yugi was usually animated and content, but now he was worn out, worried, and irritable. "I don't think we'll have to go out in disguise when we leave here. No one knows we're here." she said, trying to start a conversation with him.

Yugi sighed. "I suppose. I don't think I could get back into your dress and hose again. Not even to save my life. Those high heels just about killed my feet. Oh, Anzu, I'm going to die..." he said in a funny voice, making her laugh. She tried to slip her hand under his boxers, but he stopped her. "No, Anzu. I'm sorry." he said and began to sit up a little so he could look at her. She helped him get comfortable, and was so confused. In the elevator, he seemed to welcome her advances and now he said no. This was new to her. She never had a guy say no. Yugi seemed to be the last person to say no as well.

Did she do something wrong? Perhaps she really was a slut and was doing this out of habit? Surely he thought badly of her now! She fretted and felt stupid.

"What's wrong, Yugi? I thought you liked, er, um, how I did you." she said, feeling even more stupid. What a slutty thing to say! What to do, what to do?

Yugi shook his head. "No, Anzu, I love the way you, eh-heh, well you know. It's just I don't want our relationship to be all sex all the time, you know? I mean, I really enjoy it and all. And I can't control myself a lot of the times, but I just want you to know I love you and I don't need sex to keep on loving you. A lot of people I knew only were couples because of sex and now they hate each other. They have a bunch of kids they don't want and go to court trying to see who gets which of those kids and they fight over money and it's really all terrible. I figured out quickly that love and sex are two different things. I never knew that before when I was younger and I thought they were the same. Apparently, a lot of other people in this world think that they are too. But they're not."

Yugi paused, looking at Anzu's understanding face. She seemed to be listening to his every word and learning something new. She didn't really think anything of love and sex being different. She guessed they were the same, after all the media, teen to adult magazines, and everything else seemed to suggest that. She never gave it much thought. Yugi's words made her think and she believed what he was saying. Afterall, Yugi was a pretty serious guy, but thankfully, he wasn't too serious. He was easy to listen to and easy to believe since he spoke mostly the truth. Especially on important things.

Yugi went on, smiling at her. "Bad stuff like that won't happen to us, Anzu. It's because we truly love each other and we were best friends to begin with. Can't build a long-lasting relationship on nothing good, that's like building on sand. You have to build on something solid, like real love. That's what we have and will always have." he said, rubbing noses with her. Anzu blushed. He was so good at making her feel bashful. "Oh, Yugi! Hehee, I believe all what you're saying. You and I are forever. Through thick and thin." she said, hugging him. He hugged back of course. "Always. We're never alone."

Anzu giggled happily. "Naturally! Here." She got a marker out of her purse on the floor near the bed and got him to hold his hand out. She put her hand next to his and drew a smiley face on it. "This is our special two-hand friendship smiley." she said, looking at their hands. "Just you and me, Yugi."

Yugi smiled at her. "I think I need to get you a set of friendship necklaces or something. Drawing on people can not be healthy. Poor Anzu, you're not so well." he teased. Anzu threw the marker at him. "Oh, Yugi! You big tease! Don't make me nibble your fingers off!" she teased back. Back when she used to protect him in elementary school, she threatened to chew off his fingers if he didn't do something she wanted.

Yugi laughed hard, remembering those times long ago. "If you do, I'll make a flag out of your favorite skirt!" Anzu pinched his nose and wouldn't let go. "Just try and breathe!" she kept on teasing. But she didn't remember in time what Yugi used to do in retaliation to her holding his nose shut. "Ewww! Yugi, you didn't have to spit out snot-stuff on me!" she cried, getting off the bed and running to the bathroom to wash her hand off.

Yugi was smug and feeling not so glum anymore. "I'm sorry, Anzu, but it was self-defense." He stopped and thought of Sekhmet. "And I promise I'll do it again!" he said, copying her exact words. Anzu came back laughing, understanding his joke. "Very funny." she said and yawned. "Oh, what time is it? Eep! After one o'clock? Let's hit the hay."

Anzu hurried off to go brush her teeth and get into her nightgown. The pain in Yugi was starting to subside thanks to the medicine he took earlier. He was already asleep by the time Anzu returned to the bed. She tucked him in and brushed his long golden bangs out of his face. He looked so cute still, an interesting mix of Atemu and "Little Yugi". Anzu loved him so and realized she did not miss Atemu terribly. She had Yugi and she was satisfied with him.

* * *

Yugi was sleeping peacefully until he felt someone shaking him. "Yugi, wake up!" Sleepily, Yugi opened his eyes and couldn't believe the sneering face that he saw. "Kaiba-kun?" he said, trying to sit up. His leg prevented him from doing so and he fell back against his pillow. "Kisama! What the hll IS this?" Seto growled, thrusting a card in his face. Anzu was waking up then and she squeaked in surprise. "Kaiba? What are you doing here? You can't just come in here!" she cried.

Seto snubbed her. "Oh please. I own the world. I can go wherever I want." he jeered. "Well, Yugi? What makes you think you can send out invitations all over the country with my name next to yours? I never agreed to make an appearance to any club!"

Yugi finished reading the card and groaned. "Oh noooo! Why did Brian do this?" he said and covered his face with his hands. Seto scowled. "You mean you knew nothing of this? Hmph. To think you'd be that sneaky behind my back, but I guess you're not sly enough for that. Good. Now tell me, who is this Brian and where does he live at? I'll personally go sue the pants off this moron." Anzu waved her hands at him. "No! Don't do that!"

Immediately, Seto began to accuse. "Oh, so this is YOUR work!" he snarled. Yugi helped her. "Don't you DARE accuse her of any wrong doing!" he growled. Seto smirked, finding Yugi's defensiveness for Anzu amusing. "Fine then. Explain."

"This was done by her old co-worker's boyfriend. He wanted me to appear at his club, but he didn't ask me first. We ran into each other and finally he asked me and I gave in. But I never knew he was doing anything like this. I swear."

Seto got evil again. "Swear all you want, but I'm not taking any more of this. Tell that idiot that I am not going to his foolish club and he'll be seeing me in court." Yugi rubbed his temples like he was getting a headache. Anzu knew if Seto sued Brian, he would lose his club and Sally would most likely be back on the streets again. She would have to go back to Biff's club to support herself. She couldn't let that happen to her friend!

"Don't sue him!" she cried, but wasn't able to explain why not. She wasn't sure how to say it right and Seto wasn't one to listen to troubles of others. Seto scoffed and crossed his arms. "I'll do whatever I want. No woman dares to tell me what to do. So don't even try."

Yugi frowned at him. "Don't you talk to her like that! And stop trying to make more enemies. There's no need to sue someone over something like that. I thought you didn't waste your time on trivial matters." he said, trying to get up so he could get some clothes on. Anzu saw him struggling and went to help. Seto viewed all this as pathetic.

"I decide what is trivial and what is not. Remember who's the boss and who's the employee here!" Seto barked, feeling annoyed. "I said I would work for you for free to help you." Yugi said in a pained voice, his leg aching badly. The wounds seemed like they never wanted to heal. He was sure that dog creature was really some sort of demon and he was probably cursed. Seto eyed his rival limping to the dresser being aided by Anzu.

"I told you I don't want to owe you any favors! So you get paid! Enough of that. Mokuba told me about your stupid leg problem and he wouldn't stop worrying about it. He kept bugging me to send my best doctors to look at you, so I brought them with me. I'm doing this for him, not for you, so don't get any funny ideas that we're friends or that I actually care about you!" Seto said and looked to one of his servants waiting by the door. "Bring them in." he said in his usual grave voice.

Two doctors came into the room and looked over Yugi's poor leg. After a while, one doctor said it was infected and it had better be treated as soon as possible. He gave him a prescription for antibiotics. The other doctor asked Yugi what had happened. "A 'dog' attacked me." he said bitterly, getting annoyed. He didn't know why he felt so irritable then. Maybe it was because Seto barged into his room and woke him up rudely and accused him of doing things behind his back.

Yugi looked at the mudpie Kaiba with contempt. Why did he always have to disrespect him? Yugi couldn't help it if Kaiba couldn't ever beat him in a duel again, he shouldn't be such a sore loser and still be that way after all these years. Yugi felt his pending decision of retiring from Duel Monsters coming to a conclusion. He wanted out of this rivalry between him and Kaiba. He would just donate his deck to Seto's dueling school and be done with it all. Yuki was turning out to be a very good duelist, just like Jounouchi.

Yuki was Yugi's biggest fan and Yugi liked him. He gave him his lucky angel Kuriboh card, making the teen very happy. Ever since then, Yuki was winning duels fairly well. Yugi could see him being his successor in Duel Monsters someday.

Anzu had escaped into the bathroom to get dressed when the doctors came rushing in. 'Poor Yugi. He's only in his underwear! Stupid Kaiba! Why does he have to intrude on us like this? Why couldn't he have called? That would have been more polite.' she thought, annoyed as well.

Seto noticed Yugi glaring at him, so he glared back. "We're having lunch together, got that? I have to give you your latest job assignments that you're supposed to be doing already. I know you're trying to slack off." Yugi let out an exasperated sigh of disgust. "You KNOW about the problems I had in Egypt! Why are you always trying to patronize me?" he asked, getting sick of Seto's arrogance and lack of respect for anyone other than Mokuba.

Seto 'hmph'ed. "Give me a break. Those 'problems' you had were made up in your head just so you could take it easy. You got Mokuba into believing all this magic and fairy crap all over again and I don't like it. Stuck in a magical dome with a crazy woman who thinks she's your wife in a past life? And for months when only weeks went by? That's all absolute BULL!"

Yugi had to restrain himself so he wouldn't kill Seto. He wanted to hit him over the head as much as he had to to get the truth into his rock-hard, extremely thick skull. He was NOT making these things up! He HAD suffered with that crazy Lilianne woman for months on end and her monstrosity of a dog, Death. Now she was trying to get him, even though Atemu had told her off.

Something was weird though. The way Atemu left him didn't feel right. And the more he thought about it, Atemu's presence within him just before felt somewhat strained. He couldn't put his finger on it, but the whole time Atemu was in him that time it felt like it was an illusion. It seemed right and true at first, but later on, Yugi could sense something false about the entire concept. Had it all been a trick somehow? Was Atemu still lost out there or maybe even suffering and dying? Did someone want him to believe things were alright by playing mind games on him? Yugi felt terribly confused and filled with dread. Perhaps Atemu was still in danger? The nagging worried feeling just wouldn't go away.

"It is not lies, Kaiba! I really did suffer like that and I don't really care if you believe me or not. I know what happened and that's it. I'm through trying to convince you of the truth. I can see that you just can't handle the truth." Yugi told him, staring him down. Though that was hard to do since Kaiba was much taller and Yugi was sitting. And Kaiba was staring down right back at him. Anzu stood near Yugi defensively, unhappy with the mudpie.

"No, I don't handle nonsense well, that's all. It's you who doesn't have a grip on reality, Yugi. It's always this insane garbage of faith and the ridiculous supernatural with you. It's not normal!" Seto barked, getting fairly angry. How he wanted to knock the stuffing out of him! He had it up to here with faith, heart of the cards, fairies, and all that trash.

"What you think isn't important. I know what happened to me, really did." Yugi said softly, worrying more about what really became of Atemu. Something wasn't right. He could feel it for sure now.

Seto was fed up with Yugi's belief in what Seto thought was nonsense. He had to get out of there otherwise he'd grow, expand, and explode. "Fine! Go ahead and continue being a fool! I don't care! I'm getting out of here!" Seto yelled and departed huffily. Anzu made a face as the mudpie left. "Man, what's his problem? I can't believe that he's the same after all these years. And worse even! Ugh!"

"Yes, I know. He seems to get more irritable every time we talk. I thought that hateful grudge he has against me would go away eventually, but it just keeps getting stronger. I don't know how to help him." Yugi said, sighing. He wanted Seto as his friend, not as a rival. But Seto wanted to beat him, yet he couldn't do it and so he always talked down to Yugi in attempts to break his spirit and make him feel as miserable as Seto does. That hardly worked before, but now, it was getting to Yugi.

Anzu decided she would cheer Yugi up. "Forget about him. Let me take you to the best restaurant around here." she said, hugging him. Yugi smiled. "I'll get washed and then you can take me there. I'm starved for hamburgers." he replied, too hungry to worry about Lilianne.

* * *

All during the morning, Anzu took Yugi not only to that restaurant, but she happily took him shopping for clothes. She knew he liked shopping for clothes unlike most men. She really enjoyed having him help her pick out the best outfits. He had a good sense of fashion, something she always liked about him even before when he was known as 'Little Yugi'.

And now, he was very good at bargain hunting. It was not like Anzu didn't know how to do that, but Yugi seemed to magically know where to look and find the best deals. She admired him so. Yugi seemed to be in better spirits after he got that prescription filled and had taken the medicine. His leg didn't hurt as much as before when he walked on it now. Maybe he could dance at Brian's club afterall. Things were looking good.

"Anzu, if we keep on buying more stuff, there won't be enough room left in the plane for us when we go home." Yugi said, kidding around with her. Anzu giggled, noting the twenty bags they were carrying all together. "Heehee, I guess we have a lot of stuff, don't we? Maybe we should go drop this stuff off and take it easy." she suggested. Yugi nodded cutely, just like when he was 'Little'. "Yeah, that'd be great. I can see it now. Two glasses of lemonade and a pail of crushed ice." he said winking. She understood and nudged him. "Yugi! You're so sick sometimes! Hee, to think, I'm actually liking that about you. It's scary!"

Yugi laughed and had a very naughty look on his handsome face. "You'll like it, Anzu. Trust me." he said slyly. She rolled her eyes playfully. "I probably will, frighteningly enough." she replied. They walked half a block when a limo pulled up next to them. A tinted window pulled open and blue eyes greeted them. "Mokuba!" Yugi said.

"Yugi, get in! Nii-sama wanted me to find you so you guys can have lunch together. Come on, get in." Mokuba said, super nice and friendly. He smiled and moved over after he opened the door. The couple went in and Anzu shut the door. 'This is so cool! I get to be in a limo!' she thought and since Mokuba was there, she felt very comfortable. The younger Kaiba always made her feel welcome even though she wasn't anyone real important like Yugi. Mokuba wasn't at all a snob like his older brother.

Mokuba began to vaguely tell Yugi his new job assignments for the dueling school and some new publicity acts coming up soon. Anzu tuned out since it didn't concern her and all sounded rather boring. She looked out the window and watched the sidewalk shops go by in a fast pace. She spent many years walking up and down those streets looking for work when she first came to New York. Those were terrible bad times where she had cried her eyes out about every night in shame. She had big dreams and they were instantly dashed as soon as she got there. She thought she could dance really well, but there were about four other girls who were a little bit better than her. Only one of those four made it and the other three got nothing, just like her.

She could see out of the three that didn't make it, that one was much better than the one that did make it. The one that got picked for stardom had more money, Anzu was sure there was bribery going on there. If that were so, it wouldn't matter how good she was, someone without any talent could easily steal her place dishonestly. Anzu wanted to try again. Surely an agent would notice her now. She was Yugi Mutou's fiancée! Surely that would make her popular enough to get noticed.

Anzu then felt bad. There she went again, trying to leech off Yugi's good fortunes to better herself. She shouldn't be so low. Still, she was hopeful that her new status would help her make her dream finally come true. The limo drove up to a super duper fancy restaurant and there were some security guards there holding back a relatively large crowd away from a huge glass window where people were eating at on the other side. Anzu could see and hear the crowd talking about Kaiba.

Roland had a hard time getting Mokuba and Yugi out of the limo without the crowd getting at them. "That's Yugi Mutou! And Mokuba Kaiba!" screamed someone and that prompted the mob to hurry over to see them. More security guards with KC symbols on their uniforms appeared and forced the squealing fans back. There were some news people there as well, trying to get a story on the most important people in Duel Monsters.

Anzu had to cover her ears and squint her eyes as she followed Yugi and Mokuba to the restaurant. People were taking so many pictures of them and screaming so much, it was unbelievable! She heard Yugi talking to an excited news woman and before she knew it, Yugi pulled her close to him and proudly announced that she was his fiancée. "How long have you known her? Is she your high school sweetheart?" asked the news woman. Her camera man got closer to take more pictures with his fancy news camera.

"I've known her ever since we were little and yes, she is. My only sweetheart. She wants to be a dancer and I'm a witness to her great talent. You must see her dance at Brian's Hot Spot nightclub." he said, shocking Anzu in two ways. First of all, Yugi used to not like being in the spotlight. He was a very shy person and choked at public speaking, but now he seemed to be the opposite. Second, he was admitting his love for her on TV! And he was telling the world her dream and asking people to see her dance! Anzu believed Yugi to be the best person in the whole world then. She blushed and blushed.

"My friend Seto Kaiba isn't attending unfortunately. He's much too busy. Sorry to all, it was a typo." Yugi said, the crowd groaning in disappointment, complaining, and some began to hurl insults. Then Yugi took a rather cocky, yet sexy pose (the best he could do with his injured leg) and smirked. "Come on, people! You really want to see me, not Kaiba! There'll be a drawing for a lucky duelist to duel me there, so be sure to enter this contest. I want a good duel with a serious duelist there! Give me something to look forward to!"

Like under a spell, the crowd instantly agreed with Yugi and began to cheer for him. Many began to chant that Yugi was the King of Games. Many shouts went out that they would be the lucky one to duel him. Mokuba jabbed him in the side. "Don't say anything bad about my brother, Yugi!" he hissed. The he spoke up and the camera was focused on him.

"Listen up! I will be attending this nightclub to commission the contest duel there. So come prepared to duel!" Mokuba said and the crowd cheered just as loudly as they did for Yugi. Excited happy cries were heard from many saying they couldn't wait for the night at Brian's club so they could see Yugi and Mokuba.

The news woman liked Yugi better, so she made her camera guy take more shots of him. Yugi noticed. He happily winked at the camera and gave a thumbs up sign. He began to enter the restaurant then.

Anzu couldn't believe how confident and flashy Yugi was being. He was acting just like Otogi, but out doing him! Whoa!

The honored restaurant staff showed Mokuba and Yugi to Seto's table, which was near the front window. Anzu followed, feeling a bit forgotten, but in a great daze. She never had this sort of socialization before. The times she did experience it previously, it was the bad kind with hideous, stupid, brainless, drunk men gawking at her perfectly shaped body. But this socialization was a good kind, a popular recognition type. It put her into a world of happy fantasying that her popular status with Yugi was known and she would surely be noticed by a good agent. She could be in the movies! Yeah!

Seto glared at Yugi with a murderous look. "Being ostentatious like that will get you fired, Yugi..." he growled, his blue eyes small thin slits. Yugi sat near Seto on purpose, showing he was not one bit worried about him. "Then why don't you try calling me first before barging into my room when I'm trying to sleep. That was a very uncivilized thing to do..." Yugi said, staring him down again. Seto was beginning to hate that look from Yugi and it kept returning a lot.

"I'm uncivilized? Surely you jest." Seto said in lethal tone. Yugi sighed and shook his head. "Let's not fight, Kaiba. We have work to do. Tell me what are the new assignments?" Seto kept on glaring, still peeved. "Yes, we DO have work to do, but I'm the only one around here who's doing it." He glanced at Mokuba, implying that his brother too was slacking off. The young adult looked down at his menu in shame. He still feared his older brother.

But Yugi was not at all afraid of Seto. He never was. Angrily, Seto told him the new work to be done and was very condescending to poor Yugi. He snapped mean answers to Yugi's questions. In general, he was being a very hateful mudpie.

The meals were ordered and while they waited an hour or so for the food to be made, Seto argued with Yugi about every little thing. He made a big deal that he would NOT pay for Anzu's meal and implied she was a freeloader. Yugi assured him that he wouldn't pay for her and warned him not to put down his fiancée, but it was too late. Anzu was embarrassed and hurt. Maybe she wasn't so popular like she was fantasizing. Yugi was the one who was popular and famous, not her. She really did feel like a freeloader and that she did not belong.

Seto forced everyone to order his favorite dish of the finest premium quality beef. Even though it was a small piece, it was the best meat Anzu had ever eaten. The food made her feel a little better, but not enough to make her forget the mean things Seto said about her. She couldn't look at him, she was too hurt. He really made her feel like an outsider. Before when they were all teens, he made sure everyone knew that HE was the outsider and was proud of it. But now, Seto made her feel like she was a nobody and a wretched poor one at that.

Yugi was too busy defending himself then as Kaiba began to attack him over things in the past. Mokuba looked like he wanted to disappear through the floor. She could tell his brother was embarrassing him too. Over and over, Kaiba accused Yugi of cheating in Battle City and that was how he beat him back then and purposely made a fool out of him. "That was MY tournament and YOU made me the laughing stock of my OWN game! Everyone knows you cheated, so just admit it!" Seto sneered, hoping Yugi would punch him in public, so he would look bad.

"I never cheat and you know that, Kaiba." Yugi said, struggling with his anger. He knew Seto was trying to enrage him so he would do something brash in public. Seto had done it before, but he had yet to succeed in getting Yugi to make a fool out of himself. Mokuba tried to calm Seto down, but it was not easy.

Anzu's began to think about horrid Kevin. He was still out there, but thankfully in jail. She hoped Mokuba could keep him there. She was barely beginning to feel safe now. She did not worry too much about Lilianne, believeing Atemu told her off well enough. She was sure it was Kevin who was behind the hotel elevator sabotage.

Anzu was jarred out her thoughts as Seto slammed his hands down on the table as he stood up. He was about to grow, expand, and explode again. "I've had enough! Just do your dan job and then get the hll back to Japan! I can't stand this bullsht! I'm leaving!" Seto growled viciously. His billowing duster swirled angrily as he turned on his heel and left furious.

Mokuba began to apologize for his older brother's behavior. "I'm so sorry, Yugi. Anzu. He doesn't mean what he says. He's just working too hard." he said. Yugi gave him a watery smile. "It's alright, Mokuba. I don't care if he fights with me, but I don't want him putting down Anzu. I won't tolerate it."

"I know. I'm really sorry about it all. I'll tell you what. Let me personally escort you back to the hotel in the limo. Yugi, you can call me to take you to that nightclub, alright? It'll look more official if you arrive there with me. Maybe Nii-sama will lighten up at the good publicity we'll get from this." Mokuba said.

"I hope he does. Let's go." Yugi said, getting up. Anzu followed the two men to leave when the staff told them to depart through the back exit of the restaurant. They explained the mob of fans did not leave and were trying to riot in the front. Mokuba, of course, asked about his older brother, making sure Seto left without losing an arm or leg to the crazed mob of fans. The staff assured him that the mudpie left safely. The younger Kaiba was glad and called Roland on his cel phone to come pick them up around the back of the place.

Back in the limo, Anzu still felt unworthy of a high status. Seto treated her like she didn't deserve the finer things in life, not at all. He was more mean to her than she had seen him be to Jounouchi even! Heaving a gusty sigh, she remembered her previous fantasies. Popular? A movie dance star? Ha! She felt so stupid for dreaming like that. No way was any of that going to happen. She'd be lucky if any agent noticed her. She wasn't going to be popular because of Yugi and she scolded herself for thinking she could use his status to benefit herself. How terribly selfish. Anzu felt humiliated, but she wanted to keep her hurt feelings hidden.

Anzu remembered what Seto said; that she should wake up to the real world and stop being a fool. She had been awake to the real world for ten years, she knew how cruel, heartless, unfair, uncaring it was. How could she have been so foolish to dream up silly ideas of becoming instantly famous when she KNEW how the real world was? Dumb dumb dumb!

Lost in her painful thoughts, Anzu felt Yugi pull her close to him. "Don't listen to what he said, Anzu. He's been saying nonsense to me for the last ten years. He only acts like that because he's jealous that he doesn't have a beautiful woman by his side and I do." he said, snuggling her. She smiled, feeling a little better. Yugi was so nice!

Mokuba was talking on his cel phone then and was busy. Yugi used this opportunity to show a secret present he bought for Anzu when she had went to the bathroom in the mall. "Anzu, look." he said, rummaging through a shopping bag. He pulled out an expensive set of friendship necklaces. They were 18 KT gold and encrusted with real diamonds. And not grain-of-sand-sized diamonds; these necklaces each had one large glittering diamond.

Yugi happily grinned as he saw Anzu's eyes light up at the sight of them. "I'll get them engraved later." he said as he put her necklace around her neck. "Like?"

Anzu's joyful expression told it all. "Oh, Yugi... It's beautiful! When did you get this? When we were in the mall shopping? I didn't even see you buy it." she said, admiring the diamond on her necklace. It was so exquisite!

"When you were in the restroom, I went and got it. I noticed it when we walked by the shop that had it, so I went back and got it." Yugi said, letting Anzu put his necklace on him. Gazing into each other's eyes, they dabbed one another's faces with cute, loving kisses. Yugi began to wish he hadn't refused Anzu's advances on him the night before. He had gone without any intimate relations for months and he knew he'd go crazy soon if he didn't get some relief. He was sure that night he would get some. The more he thought about it, the more lurid he felt. This was not good to be feeling with company around.

When Roland got stuck in traffic, Yugi made sure he did not show his frustration. He quietly looked out the window as Mokuba kept talking on the cel phone and Anzu was playing with the controls for the windows. Up and down went Anzu's window. Up and down, up and down. The repetitive motion reminded Yugi of a similar set of motions he planned to do on his fiancée. Mokuba was arguing with someone at that time and it agitated Yugi.

Whenever he felt deprived like this (and this was the longest he had gone without any sexual fun), Yugi got annoyed by tiny things fairly fast. Mokuba's fighting on the cel phone, Anzu still playing with the windows, and the constant honking from the other cars around them (this could be heard every time Anzu opened the window), made Yugi want to smash something. He was about to explode when at last the limo began to move again.

Breathing a sigh of relief, Yugi blew air up into his golden bangs sending them flying. Anzu then noticed something was wrong. "Yugi? Do you feel alright? Does your leg hurt you?" she asked, concerned. Yugi was too embarrassed to admit his aroused emotions to her with Mokuba right there. His leg did not bother him, which was a good thing. He was able to walk on it fairly well now; the medicine worked excellently. Thankfully that was one less problem to worry about.

Trying to tame his eager feelings, he winked at her. "I'll tell you later...when we're alone..." he said softly to her. Anzu was a bit confused at first. Why couldn't he tell her now? She looked him up and down, then noticed the extreme swelling between his legs. She figured it out quickly and giggled. 'I wondered how long you could go without it.' she thought to herself smiling. She couldn't wait to treat him again. He wasn't the only one who bought a secret gift. She looked down at the shopping bag with a chocolate body kit inside. She liked how that frosting tasted and loved the texture of Yugi's proud thick manhood.

Looking forward to the planned naughty fun ahead, she hugged and snuggled him filled with delight. Without really thinking or maybe from habit, she involuntary gave him a gentle squeeze. A restrained lustful gasp escaped her lover instantly. Yugi squeezed his eyes shut hard. "..A-Anzu..." he said, his tone warning her. "Wait..."

Anzu pulled her hand away and smoothed his bangs hastily. "Ok." she said simply. His beautiful bright purple eyes looked at her with complete dominance, a look she recognized as an assurance that great pleasure lied ahead. She liked being dominated by Yugi in a such a way, he was so good at making her feel good. And after the mean things Seto had said to her, she needed some sexual gratification to make her forget those hurtful sayings.

Mokuba didn't notice what the couple was doing across the seat from him since he was talking non-stop on the phone. A bunch of boring Kaiba Corporation work that had to be done. Most of it had to do with making sure managers were doing their jobs and Mokuba caught many that weren't. When the limo pulled up into the private parking in the back of the hotel, Yugi quickly thanked Mokuba for all his generosity and help. Roland offered to carry the bags in for them, but Yugi refused. He gathered all the heavy bags himself and hurried away. Anzu hung back and thanked Mokuba some more.

Curious, the young Kaiba asked, "Why is Yugi-kun in a hurry?" Anzu giggled and pretended to not know. "Uh, I dunno. But thanks again, Mokuba. You're so nice!" Mokuba nodded. "Anytime! Call me whenever you and Yugi want a limo for the day. It's on me." The cel phone rung again, so he had to go. Anzu waved her goodbye's and watched the limo pull away. Sighing, she jogged towards where Yugi was calling her.

Once in their hotel room and the door was locked, Yugi playfully tackled Anzu on the bed. Hungry kisses teased her flesh as he did away with her blouse and bra hastily. Though he was careful as he removed their friendship necklaces and placed them on the small desk near the bed. Then he removed his own clothes, tossing them away onto the floor. She then felt him tugging at her shorts and panties almost frantically. She helped him get them off. Closing her eyes happily, Anzu moaned as his mouth worked on her excited breasts. The way he swirled and dabbed his strong tongue over her hard nipples drove her wild. "Ooohhhh, ohhhhh...! Ohhh, Yugi...! Mmmm-ahhhh... Ahhh! Ahhh-ahhh! Uhhh..."

Her salivating slick vaginal region yielded easily to Yugi's thick rock-solid penis as he penetrated her. They both pounded their groins into each other with great abandon. He pulled her legs up out of the way and held her down as he thrusted her with all his raging passion. Anzu felt her body shaking like mad as Yugi viciously fumped her. The sweet smell of sex filled the air. Every so often, Yugi slowed a bit so they could savor the pleasure at each push and pull.

"Uhhh, ohhhh! Mmm-uhhh-uhhh! Ahhh-ahhh-uhhh-uh-uhh...!" Anzu cried, tossing her head side to side. "Mmm... Ohh, yesss... Yes... Uhhh... Mmm... Ohhh, man..." Yugi purred, slowing his bucking. He felt a climax coming on and he wanted to draw this fump for as long as he could. "Mmm, Anzu...are you liking this?" he whispered, licking and kissing her breasts sexily. A hard buck from her answered him. "I love this, Yugi...Mmmm! Do that again... Ohhh...that feels so good..." she moaned, burying her fingers into his spiky, yet silky hair. "What? You mean this?" he asked and lowered his head to her right nipple. He gently chewed it as he pushed his long pole into her deeper. "OoooOOoooo! Ohhh yes! That! Uhhhh! Ohhh, do it more..." she groaned happily, freeing a hand from his hair and slipping it down to her clitoris to tease it. Yugi nibbled her nipples as he pumped her slow and hard.

Moments later, she had an intense orgasm. The white bubbling juices covered her lover's penis wonderfully. The gentle flowing of her sex nectar caused Yugi to climax then. He bucked into her quickly, trying to cherish the last fleeting bits of pleasure. He layed upon her, his manhood embedded deep inside her. Anzu loved this great fullness. It was something she could never get with her fingers and toys alone. The couple shared many passionate kisses while enjoying each other.

Most men would shrink in size soon after releasing, but not Yugi. His swelling rod remained its hard thick condition for a long while which was pleasing to Anzu. Finally, he pulled out and layed next to her, feeling a little satisfied. He closed his eyes in gratification. "Uhhh, ohhh yeaahh... That was pretty nice..." he purred, fondling his erection and sacks below. Anzu smiled, also feeling good. She watched his play with himself. Seeing his penis spew out more sperm reminded her of something.

"Yes, it was. Yugi?"

"Hmm?"

"I bought another kit..."

His purple eyes flew open. "Where is it?" he asked, reaching over her and tried looking at the shopping bags beside the bed. She giggled and pushed him off. "Wait, I know where it is. Hold on for a second, you silly perv. That is if you can." she teased, laughing. Yugi grinned. "Anzu...can you jog around the room a couple of times first?"

Anzu gave him a playful smile. "Why and what will you give me if I do?" she asked huskily. Yugi returned her salacious stare. "I want to see those beautiful breasts of yours to jump for me and I like watching your sweet butt move. What I'll give you is a night you'll never forget..." he said so lustfully that Anzu felt even wetter in between her legs.

She couldn't help giggling as she briskly walked around the room, her breasts bouncing freely. Yugi masturbated happily away. She stopped and got an idea. "Yugi? How would you like it if I show you how I used to pleasure myself?" she asked, feeling pretty kinky. Yugi's lewd grin excited her. "Show me..."

Wanting to impress and entertain him, she got the body frosting kit and returned to the bed. "Don't tell me you used these kits to play with yourself? My fantasies weren't so far off..." Yugi purred, watching her intently. She gently whacked his arm. "No, you pervert! I used my hands, sex toys, and, er, um, well, vegetables..."

Yugi's eyes showed much interest. "Mmm...I can imagine that..." he said, gripping his penis tighter as he serviced himself. "A fresh fat carrot shoved deep inside you and I feast upon both you and the carrot..." Yugi went on a bit more on some other sick fantasies he was having then, when Anzu told him to quit it. "Hey, aren't you the one who said we're not all about sex?" she asked, worrying about him. Yugi laughed softly. "Yes, I know. But I meant meaningless sex continuously every day, every hour without thinking nor having any good reason to. We can enjoy some kinky sex once and a while, can't we?"

"Well, yeah, I suppose. But let's not get absurdly smutty, ok? I mean, what you just said about me and broccoli makes me want to puke! Sheesh, Yugi! Are you a man or a dog?" she asked, glaring.

"Woof...!"

Anzu gave up being annoyed with him. He was too playful and teasing now to be taken seriously. "You're just being the sicko pervert you are, aren't you?" He moved closer to her and cupped her breasts. "You know I am..." he said grinning. His thumbs rubbed over her softened nipples, causing them to perk up in a few seconds. "Uhhh, ohhh, Yugi! Mmm!"

"Anzu, I think you'll have to show me how you play with yourself another time." Yugi said lewdly in her ear.

The next thing Anzu knew was that she was on her back and her legs spread. Yugi was ripping into the chocolate kit and taking out the supplies. She watched half-shocked and in half-anticipation as he lathered up the brush with frosting. She couldn't see what he was doing when he went down between her legs, but she felt him brushing the candy on her. It tickled in a good way.

Soon, Anzu felt Yugi's tongue licking off the frosting in long strokes. The sweet stuff was gone quickly. Yugi did not stop there. He licked her clitoris lovingly, then it traveled down to her puffy vagina. His tongue entered her, teasing her just enough to get her hips bucking. Each and every lick caused her thrust even harder. "Uhh-uhh! Oooo! Ohh-uhhh! Ahh-ahh! Ohh, Yugieee!"

Nothing felt this way, nothing at all! Yugi's fingers worked on her clitoris expertly, sending great waves of sexual pleasure throughout her body. All the while, his tongue pumped in and out of her. He licked, sucked, and nibbled on her wings; each action made her buck upwards over and over. He was actually eating her! It felt so good...so incredibly good! She couldn't decide if she liked this better or when he was penetrating her with his prized penis.

Howling in hot desire, she experienced another nerve-wracking orgasm. She thought maybe Yugi would pull away to finger her some more, but instead he buried his face into her and drank. The licking and sucking continued until she was empty. One last gentle lick to her clitoris made her sob with joy. "Ohhhhh, Yugi, Yugi, Yugi...! Uhhh, ohhhh, that...that...was...Ohhhh..."

Yugi pulled himself over top of her again. "Absolutely delicious... That's what it was..." he purred, his lips wet with her nectar. Anzu was in a sexual daze then; she couldn't answer. Fresh secretions began to ooze out of her. Eyes closed, she savored the wonderful feelings. Then she felt his thick manhood filling her once again. His wet lips serviced her breasts once more. He did that chew and thrust move on her then, sending her into a world of passionate lust. She began to release all over again. 'I'm going to pass out! This feels soo good!' she thought, too gone to scream it. The bucking was so fierce, she feared something would break. She didn't know Yugi's hips could pump that ridiculously fast. He was just like a rabbit! It was a thrilling experience, this hardcore sex.

Hot searing molten semen flowed inside her and she felt him pull free. Next that thick pole was at her lips. Without a word, she sucked and deep-throated him as he climaxed hard, sending long squirts down her throat. She grasped and squeezed his balls the whole while, pleasing Yugi immensely.

More satisfied, Yugi layed next to her and stretched. "Mmm...thank you, Anzu... I can't thank you enough..." he said, trying to catch his breath. Anzu was panting hard, feeling pretty tired at this point. "Mm-hmm..." she murmured, wiggling her body under the thin blankets under her. Yugi got under the sheets with her and snuggled her. She smiled gently at him and dozed off. Yugi quickly followed her in slumber. This certainly was a night to remember!

* * *

When Anzu woke late the next morning, she noticed Yugi was gone. Feeling a little sad, she remembered that yesterday Seto and Mokuba had given him work assignments to do. She yawned and looked to the desk near the bed where Yugi had put their friendship necklaces. Only one was there. Smiling, she knew Yugi put his necklace back on. There was a note there too from Yugi, of course.

She read the note. Yugi mostly told her where he was and what he was doing. She detested the part in the note where he emphasized her to not leave the hotel at all for safety reasons. What could she do all day at a hotel? It was such a nice day outside too. If she covered herself up to look like a bag bum lady, maybe no one would bother with her. But she didn't want to disguise herself. She wanted to have fun, not hide like a rat in a boring hotel.

Getting an idea, she got up and took a shower. Dressing in her most fancy pretty clothes, she went down to the lobby to use the phone. She called Sally, asking her to have Brian take them shopping and then to the Ra Yellow District Dueling School so she could surprise Yugi. Sally, of course, loved the idea and told her that she and Brian would pick her up soon. Anzu skipped to the front of the hotel and sat in a chair to wait.

Anzu felt flustered when some random nice-looking men winked at her as each of them went by at different times. Maybe she did dress a little too sexy, but it was for Yugi. No one else! 'So back off, buddy!' she thought, giving a mean look to the latest male admirer, a stupid goof-ball smiling at her. He looked a bit drunk. 'Go away!' she thought, trying to send bad vibes to the dork. When his wife appeared, he stopped looking. Anzu was annoyed.

At last Brian and Sally appeared. Anzu gratefully went into Brian's car and the shopping trip they had was fun, but short-lived since Anzu was anxious to get the gift she bought Yugi to him right away. Brian was ecstatic to hear that Yugi's leg was much better and that he could maybe dance. "It's great how he got me out of that pinch with Kaiba and all! Having Mokuba there will be super! My club will be famous forever! Yee-haa!"

Sally giggled. "Oh Brian-poopsie! You'll be more than famous! You'll be in the movies!" she cried, making Anzu remember her silly thoughts of being in the movies herself because of Yugi's popularity. Brian and Sally were doing the same thing now and it made her feel weird. It couldn't be right to use someone else's status to better themselves...

"No, babe! WE will be in the movies! All thanks to Yugi being the coolest dude in the universe! Yahoo!" Brian replied, playing soft rock on his CD car radio. The two nuts began to sing along in joy to the current song playing as the car pulled into the Ra Yellow Dueling School parking lot. "We'd go in with ya, Anzu-baby, but we still got a lot of work to do!" Brian told her. Sally squealed with joy. "Oh yes! We have to get streamers and more balloons, oh and more cake! It'll be just like a birthday party, hehee!"

Anzu waved at them. "Ok, no problem. I'll just take a taxi or I'll go back with Yugi. See you tomorrow!" she said. They drove away, she could still hear them singing out of sync to the new song playing then. So sad, but they were nice funny people.

Anzu entered the building without too much resistance, though some guards asked her what she was doing there. She lied saying she was a new student. She was sure if she said she was looking for Yugi, they may turn her away in attempts to make sure he wasn't bothered. She checked the note Yugi wrote her. 'Ok, room 201 at two o'clock. Alright this is room 195, the next set must be around this corner.' she thought and briefly noticed many teachers teaching dueling in all those rooms she passed. Kaiba really did have a lot of boarding students!

As she neared the corner, she heard laughing and a familiar voice. Yugi and who? She carefully peeked around the corner and saw a beautiful woman sharing some sort of comical conversation with her beloved Yugi. She couldn't make out what they were saying though. Immediately, Anzu was withdrawn and very jealous. This woman had the biggest implant breasts Anzu had ever seen and her hair HAD to have been dyed. She was wearing such slutty dress, it made Anzu sick. She suspected the worse of what she saw. That woman kept on touching Yugi too! Patting his shoulder...ROAR! Why was Yugi laughing with her? Everything she said seemed funny to him...WHAT WERE THEY TALKING ABOUT!

Anzu's anger and jealousy made her go around the corner boldly and confront them. The talking and laughing stopped. "Anzu! What are you doing here? I thought I told you to stay at the hotel." Yugi cried, going up to her. He was glad to see her though. Work was incredibly boring and he'd rather would spend all his days with Anzu than keep building up the Kaiba Corp reputation.

"No wonder you wanted me to stay at the hotel..." Anzu stated, having a hard time controlling the stiff anger in her voice. "It's so you can fool around with this hussy!" She pointed a finger at the woman who was talking to Yugi.

Yugi gawked at her. "What are you talking about, Anzu?" he asked, confused. The woman Anzu accused was not happy. "Excuse me? Hussy? I am not! How dare you say that to me?" she cried and then questioned Yugi as to who Anzu was. "Yugi, who is this? Is she even allowed in here?"

"Dawn, this is my fiancée, Anzu Mazaki." Yugi explained quickly. "Anzu, this is Dawn. She's learning how to become a teacher for duelists. I'm her supervisor. Kaiba wants me to train her. That's my job." he told Anzu, wondering what was wrong with her.

Anzu almost believed him, but then realized his explanation might be a cop out! Her jealousy was strong, her street sense told her to never believe what men say, and she did not trust that 'secret' conversation she witnessed between them. She saw what she saw...

"How very convenient for you..." Anzu sneered, staring down Dawn. Yugi sighed and shook his head. "Are you saying you're actually jealous? If you could please tell me what about, I'd like to know." he said, not sure how he got into this mess. Anzu was blown away. How could he not know what she was upset about?

"I saw you talking to this pheromone hussy... You sure thought everything she had to say was funny!" Anzu growled, accusing Yugi of wrong-doing. Dawn narrowed her eyes at Anzu. Why did she keep calling her a hussy? She didn't even know her!

From the short time she had worked there, Dawn happened to like Yugi, maybe even more than a friend, but she didn't know he had a fiancée. And a loud-mouthed, paranoid one at that... This was not good!

Yugi didn't like headaches, but he was getting one now. He rubbed his forehead and tried again to convince Anzu that she was wrong. "Dawn was talking about how one of the students here was running too fast to the door for a fire drill and he fell into a large wastebasket. I won't mention his name. That's all. I don't know how you can be jealous over something like this. This is crazy!" he said, starting to get annoyed. Yugi tried his hardest all during high school showing Anzu that he had eyes only for her and after all these years, nothing had changed. Now she was accusing him of cheating?

Again Anzu's street sense surfaced once more. "Yes, it is crazy! I'd be crazy to believe you after what I saw, Yugi! She was flirting with you and you didn't even try to stop her!" she yelled, her hands balling into fists. "Shh! Be quiet, you!" Dawn hissed at her. "Students are studying in these rooms, idiot!"

"DON'T CALL ME AN IDIOT, YOU TRASHY PHEROMONE HUSSY!" Anzu roared, taking a few steps towards Dawn in a threatening manner. Luckily, no one from the study rooms came out to inspect. Yugi quickly took control of the matter. "Dawn, I appreciate it if you do NOT talk poorly to my fiancée. I do not tolerate it." he told the blonde woman. To his lover, he said, "Anzu, please be quiet. We're going outside right now to straighten this out." He looked to his subordinate. "Dawn, page Mr. Razsmith to get you a different supervisor. I'm sorry."

Dawn watched with much hate towards Anzu. Yugi didn't deserve to have such a despicable woman by his side. He deserved much better...and she was better! Even if Yugi turned her down, she wanted to get back at Anzu for calling her a hussy. No one gets away calling her a hussy like that!

Yugi took Anzu outside to the parking lot where it wouldn't matter much if she continued to yell. "Now, Anzu, what's this about Dawn flirting with me? I would have stopped her if she did, you know." he said, wishing she would be nice again. Please!

"She did flirt with you! I saw it! And you did nothing to stop her!" Anzu cried, angry. Yugi sighed sadly. "Alright, tell me what you saw exactly and what did I do wrong."

"Well, you explained about why you guys were laughing, but she was touching your shoulder over and over and you didn't stop her!" Anzu scowled. Yugi's eyes widened. "You think that's flirting? Oh man, no, it's not. If she was grabbing at my groin or something like that, I'd stop her."

"Yeah right. I bet you would, you pervert..." Anzu muttered, crossing her arms and turning slightly, peeved. Yugi shook his head. "Come on, Anzu! I would stop anyone who'd try touching me like that, believe me! I'm your best friend, I'd never hurt you..." Yugi's lovely voice faded off, fearing that he may not be able to convince her. He didn't know what he'd do if she left him. Just the thought terrified him and broke his heart.

"If you could share my mind like how Atemu did, then you'd know I'm not lying to you..." Yugi tried again, praying this would work. He'd do anything to keep her, he loved her so much. "Anzu, please, believe me..."

When he said all that, Anzu began to think about everything and weighed it all. Yugi did defend her when that hussy Dawn insulted her and he did tell her to get a new supervisor... And now he was trying to convince her that he was loyal. She shouldn't be so paranoid and doubt Yugi. Had she forgotten that he rescued her from the hard stripper street life and that he shared everything with her? Had she forgotten that he promoted her talents on national television and defended her against the most horrid man (Seto Kaiba) on earth? She realized she must have forgotten. She shouldn't rely on her old instincts and habits. They were making her accuse poor innocent Yugi!

"I can't bare the thought of losing you, Anzu... Please, I'm not lying to you! I love you..!"

Anzu felt tears come to her eyes. Shameful tears of stupidity. She did it again. She attacked and blamed Yugi when he was not at fault. "Oh, Yugi! I'm so sorry!" she cried and ran to him. His arms went around her fast. He felt so relieved. She was still his! "I'm so stupid, Yugi! I can't help it! When I saw you talking to another woman, I just snapped. I'm sorry I didn't give you the benefit of a doubt! I just thought the worst right away. I'm sorry, Yugi!" she sobbed into his chest. He held her closer. "Shh, no, it's alright... I understand, don't worry... I was wrong. I should have taken you with me to work. Then you wouldn't have gotten the wrong idea. I just didn't want to wake you up. You looked so beautiful when you're sleeping."

Anzu looked up at him, wiping her eyes childishly. It was something Yugi saw as cute, not babyish. "My Sleeping Beauty." he said, much warmth in his voice. Anzu closed her eyes happily as they kissed. So gentle, so romantic; Anzu felt like she was on a cloud with him. They hugged again, soaking each other's presence and affection. Dawn watched all this from a window in the dueling school. Her fist curled tightly. Blood dripped from her knuckles as her fingernails dug into her palm. 'Dirty witch! I appreciate Yugi more than that paranoid nutcase! She's not even pretty! What does Yugi see in her?' she thought angrily.

"You want him, don't you?" asked a voice. Dawn turned around and saw a strange Egyptian woman. "Who are you? What are you talking about?" She didn't like all these new people popping out from no where!

"I'm a sorceress. I can hear your thoughts. I can help you get rid of that she-wolf down there." Lilianne said, grinning evilly. Dawn cocked an eyebrow at her. "Yeah right. I don't believe in your kind." she said and tried to leave. Lilianne stopped her. "Your name is Dawn Mislevance, you're twenty-four going onto twenty-five in forty-nine days on May twenty-seven. Your mother's name is Mallory and your father's name is Michael. You have three brothers and no sisters. Your cat's name is Felicia."

Dawn was convinced then, but confused to how this weird woman knew so much about her. Most fortune-tellers had to know something about you first before they told you anything about you, but this strange lady knew a lot about her without any info to begin with. Maybe she did have powers...!

"Alright, I guess you're a real deal. But how are you going to get rid of that bch anyway?" Dawn asked. Lilianne grinned evilly. "You'll see..."

**To Be Continued onto Chapter 4! Coming in Ch4: What plans do Lilianne and Dawn have to get rid of Anzu? Will Kevin escape jail and return to terrorize Yugi and Anzu? What _really did happen_ to Atemu? And Bakura's evil plan takes shape! This and much more!**


	4. Yami Bakura's Plan Revealed

No Longer Little Ch.4

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All Yu-Gi-Oh! characters are copyright of Kazuki Takahashi and Konami.

Author Note: This is a sweet romantic-ish ficcy of Yugi and Anzu (Tea). Anzu goes to New York to start her dancing career but doesn't make it. She falls on hard times with depression and is forced to become a stripper instead to support herself. Too ashamed to contact her friends from high school, she is alone until Yugi finds her about ten years later. No longer is he a "Little Yugi" but rather a Yugi that is like Yami Yugi though even better since he surpassed him years before (see last episodes of the anime and manga). A great ficcy for those who love hetero hardcore romance and Yugi X Anzu lemon stuffs. :) R/R, please no flames! If you don't like Anzu or Yugi, just don't read this then. I don't want hateful reviews / flames from those who don't even like these characters.  
Also see the fic scene fanart piccys for this fic series at my website http / www. alaer art. com and http / alaer. deviant Art. com! (remove all the spaces) Enjoy!

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No Longer Little

Chapter 4

Yugi hugged Anzu tightly to himself. He couldn't believe how close he was to losing Anzu. He did nothing wrong and she somehow got evil ideas about him. Was fate conspiring against him? It seemed every time she was out of his sight, bad things happened. He had to keep her in his sights more often or else he could risk losing her. This may be Lilianne's doing somehow. He had to be careful until he figured out a way to stop that meddling evil witch.

"Yugi, are you hungry? 'Cuz, I'm starved!" Anzu said, pulling away and holding his hands in hers. "Well, now that you mention it, yes. I didn't get to have lunch today." Yugi replied, wanting to hold her hands forever. If she was near, he could protect her. "Alright then! I didn't get to eat much when I left the hotel because I wanted to get you something." She dug around in her purse and pulled out a gift box covered in fancy silver wrapping paper. "Here." she said, blushing. Yugi took it in his hands gently and gave her a fond look. "Anzu, you don't need to buy me things. That's my job."

She shook her head. "No way, that's not fair for you. Anyway, I liked getting you something. I want to make it a habit. Go ahead. Open it." Yugi carefully pulled off the pretty wrapping paper and tucked it into his pocket. He opened the box and pulled out a new black leather choker. It was had a spike pattern in red and silver metal gems. Yugi loved it. "Thank you, Anzu! It's really great! How did you know I like black?" he teased, taking off his current belt choker and putting on the new one. She laughed. "Yugi! You always wear black, silly. Hehee!"

"I know." He grinned. How do I look?" he asked. Anzu gave him a kiss. "Like a sexy hottie, not like you aren't all the time though." she replied, running her hand down his cheek and along his jawline. "Yugi, I've decided I'm going to try and get a new decent job and then I won't be using up your money. I'll pay you back for everything too. I promise." she told him. Yugi was alarmed. Anzu wanted to get a job? If she did that, she would be out of his sight and bad things most likely would happen again! No. No, he couldn't allow it! Not with that witch still out there and there was no guarantee the police will keep Kevin behind bars.

"No, Anzu. Don't pay me back, I don't want you to. I don't mind sharing everything I have with you. I want to share my assets. Money is nothing to me. I value you more than anything in this world. There's no need for you to get a job." Yugi said, hoping she would agree. Anzu realized that Yugi was being very generous, but if she accepted, then what Seto said about her being a freeloader would be true. She couldn't accept, it wasn't right to use him.

"It's alright, Yugi. I want to pay you back. I'll be so bored stuck in a house all day while you work. I'll find some sort of secretary job and I'll-" Anzu stopped short when Yugi yelled angrily, "No!"

Anzu was confused. "Huh?" she squeaked, a bit frightened from his outburst. Yugi blinked back the tears forming in his purple eyes. "I said no. I don't want you getting a job and that's it." he said in a stiff upset tone, silencing Anzu. She wondered if he was trying to control her... No, this was Yugi! He'd never do such a thing! He wasn't a male chauvinist pig, no way.

Yugi sighed, expressing sadness. "I'm sorry, Anzu. I didn't mean to snap at you. I'm just worried something bad will happen to you if you're not near me. I won't be able to protect you if I'm not close by. That's why I don't want you getting a job. I'm so afraid I'll lose you..." he admitted, a tear escaping down his cheek.

Anzu felt his worried fear go through her like a cold sharp blade. She remembered when Kevin tried to attack her, she was alone. Could something like that happen again? Maybe not by Kevin, but some other nutcase wacko off the street? Yes, it was possible. Trouble could follow her when she least expected it. Maybe Yugi was right. It might be better to be bored in a house all day in safety instead of being in terrible danger.

"Oh, Yugi..." she said, hugging him. His choked sobs made her want to cry too. "It's okie, Yugi. Shhh, alright, I won't get a job then." She felt his slim powerful frame lovingly. He never was much bigger than she was, but he was so strong now. When she was a little girl, she dreamed of having a tall, buff guy as her mate and she would have a career in dancing. Instead she got a petite semi-buff guy, but she wasn't complaining. Though she did not have that dancing career, yet. She mustn't give up!

In grade school, she met Yugi and felt sorry for him when the other kids picked on him because of his small size. Since he was softer than most boys and feminine even, Anzu enjoyed being around him. She could play bodyguard and boss him around. She could make him play dolls or play house with her whenever she wanted and he would do it. He was like the brother she never had, but he was even better than that since he obeyed her easily.

Then things changed when Yugi completed the Millennium Puzzle and released Atemu's soul into his body and they shared everything. Anzu thought back to when she instantly fell for Atemu and pretty much ignored Yugi. She felt bad for being like that before. Yugi loved her, not Atemu. At least, that's what Anzu figured out. She was glad she did.

Yugi forced himself to stop being so emotional. "I'm sorry, Anzu. I bet you're tired of seeing me cry, huh?" he half-joked, wiping his tears dry. She looked him straight in the face, showing him an expression of stern love. "No, I'll never be tired of your innocence, Yugi. You're crying because you are worried about my safety and well-being. You're crying because you care about me. I can never get tired of seeing you express your love to me." she told him, knowing how emotional he was.

"Anzu..."

His eyes shimmered with deep affection as he held her chin gently. Another love-felt kiss. Then another and another. Soon, they were making out heavily in the parking lot. Suddenly a bunch of hoots and whistles were heard from a few windows at the third floor of the dueling school not too far off in the distance. "Woo-hoo! Make out!" "Get it on! Yeah!" "Woof-woof!" "Arwooo!" "Meee-ooowr!"

Instantly, the couple turned to the school and Anzu was incredibly embarrassed. 'Sheesh, how did this happen? Was everyone watching?' she thought, tucking her hair behind her right ear. "Hey, Yugi! Are you two gonna give us a real show or what?" yelled a green haired guy that Yugi knew from work. "Hurry up and get it on already!"

"You wish, Tyler!" Yugi yelled back, giving him the finger. Tyler laughed. "Ooo! Tough guy!" he teased, making faces. Yugi shook his head in disgust and turned, leading Anzu away. The cat calling continued as they left. She was mortified. That was so super embarrassing!

"Kisama... Baka-yaro..." Yugi muttered, still shaking his head. Anzu nodded. "You can say that again." she agreed. They walked to where Yugi could flag down a taxi. "Kuso! I bet he drew that crowd there to watch us like that. He's always a busybody, that idiot. He's got no life at all." he said, as they waited for a taxi to pull up to them.

"I can tell." Anzu answered, still blushing. Yugi sighed. "He's sure to tease me tomorrow when I go to work again. He must enjoy getting beaten up." He was glad he got over being against violence. He knew he'd explode if he couldn't hit jerks like Tyler every now and then, especially when they deserved it. Before he used to keep his angry hurt feelings bottled up and it was very hard on him. But now, he had no trouble dishing out punishments to relieve his anger to those who, as Atemu would put it, 'trespassed on his soul'.

Anzu remembered that tomorrow was the special night Brian's club and also wondered at the same time if Yugi could leave work just like how he did now. "Yugi, you won't get into trouble for leaving work early, right? Tomorrow is Brian's club thing. How long will you have to work?" she asked, worried. It was her fault for him leaving work early today. Would he be able to do it again tomorrow?

Yugi fluffed prettily. "Kaiba-kun doesn't care if I leave early. As long as I get the assignments done, he doesn't care. I was pretty much done when you came, so don't worry." he said, his hand sneaking up behind her rump. A tight squeeze followed.

Anzu scolded him playfully and escaped his second grab. "Yugi! You pervert! Like you didn't get enough last night, hmph!" she cried, crossing her arms. Yugi grinned. "Silly Anzu. You know I can never get enough of you. Purrr!" he teased, winking. Anzu giggled, unable to stay annoyed with him. He was so fun! Anzu thought of something then when she saw a certain fast food restaurant sign.

"Yugi?"

"Mm?"

"Do you still like hamburgers?"

"Oh yes. It's still my favorite food." Yugi purred. He nearly lost Anzu, but he was able to keep her his in the end. This made him content and joyful, thus making him feel frisky. Anzu eyed him. "You're not getting funny again are you?" she teased, patting his rump. Yugi put his arm around her back, pulling her close, and nuzzled her gently. "Of course not."

"Mm-hmm. Yeah. Right." she said affectionately, nuzzling him back. "Well, then, since you like hamburgers still, we can go to BurgerWorld." Yugi kissed her cheek. "That's a great idea! Do you know any near here?"

Anzu giggled and nodded. "Hehee, yeah! Look there." she said, pointing down the street. There was a huge BurgerWorld sign sticking out from all the other dull colored shops close to it. Yugi whacked his head playfully. "Duh! Heh, alright, let's go! Burgers here I come!" he said happily. Burgers always made him happy. More so now since he could share them with Anzu.

The couple walked to the fast food restaurant quickly and in no time, they were greeted at the door and assigned seats. The couple was sitting across from each other at one small booth. Yugi ordered three Jumbo BW burgers, Jumbo BW curly fries, and a large soda. Anzu asked for two regular (relatively smaller) burgers. She wanted to share Yugi's soda and fries since she didn't want to keep on spending his money. What Seto said about her being a freeloader was stuck in her mind. He was right. She couldn't be so low and leech on Yugi. She knew he didn't mind her using his money, but she did not want to prove true what Seto said.

"Are you sure that's all you want, Anzu?" Yugi asked her as the waiter waited for them to confirm their orders. "Yup." she said simply. Yugi looked confused and then he gave her a fond look. "It's alright, Anzu. You can order more than that. Don't worry about the bill. Go on, order more." he urged her. Anzu looked down, feeling bad. She did want to order more, but that was selfish, wasn't it?

Yugi took her hand, causing her to look up into his loving expression. "Forget what Kaiba said. He doesn't know what he's talking about. Believe me, I've had to put up with his crazy talk for a very long time." Anzu was speechless. How did he know that those worried thoughts were holding her back from ordering more yummy food? Could he read her thoughts?

Heeding him, she nodded happily. "Thank you, Yugi..." she said gratefully. She ordered more, making herself forget what stupid Kaiba said about her. Maybe in Japan, she could talk Yugi into letting her get a job near where he lived and it'd be alright since Kevin would be in jail in the United States and she still believed Lilianne was not a threat. Seto's words would mean nothing especially then after she got a new job.

The food was delivered to their table soon and Anzu watched Yugi eat as she ate. He was too busy stuffing his pretty face with fat hamburgers to notice her staring at him. Some juice dribbled down his chin. The shininess of those little rivers trailing from his mouth, suddenly reminded her how he looked after performing oral sex on her. His chewing made her remember how his mouth worked on her the night before. That had felt really nice and she was becoming aroused seeing him eat like that.

Blushing deeply, she forced herself to look away. 'I can't believe this! I'm actually getting turned on by seeing Yugi eat! Is there something wrong with me?' she thought, squeezing her napkin. She realized moistness was already forming between her legs. 'Oh great! That's the last thing I need. Getting horny in public in a BurgerWorld restaurant! Ugh!"

At last, Yugi noticed Anzu's strange expressions. "What's wrong, Anzu? Don't you feel alright?" he asked, concerned. Her face was very red, maybe she was sick?

She giggled nervously. "I'm fine, Yugi." she said, waving a hand at him. Yugi was still worried. "Are you sure? Your face is very pink. Do you feel hot?" he asked, standing up a little to put his hand on her forehead. As he stood, she got a good look at his groin area. Prominent as usual, much thanks to his tight leather pants. The sight of his goodies made her feel more excited.

"You don't feel too hot. Are you sure nothing's wrong?" he asked. Anzu stood up so she could whisper in his ear. "I'll tell you later...when we're alone..." she said softly, using his words he used before in Mokuba's limo. Yugi's eyes widened.

"Oh, I see..." he said, sitting back down. She parked her rump back down too. They began to giggle at each other. "Maybe that should be our trademark verbal signal whenever we feel like..- well you know." Yugi said, winking. Anzu propped her elbow on top of the table and rested her chin in her hand, giving him a naughty gaze. "You're really rubbing off on me, Yugi. I'm getting as bad as you now. And it's all your fault."

Yugi returned her gaze with a naughty look of his own. "Are you going to punish me?" he purred, grinning. He hoped so, heh heh! Anzu wagged a finger at him. "You're going to be more than punished. You're gonna have to play that Darbie game!"

Yugi gagged. "Ah, no! Not that game!" he cried, making a face. She laughed. "I thought you liked ALL games, Yugi. What's wrong with this one?" she asked, teasing him. The handsome man was desperate to NOT play THAT game.

"You don't understand, Anzu. It's too sweetsie-cutie, even for me! True, I can handle girly stuff, but not that girly! That's like me wearing your red dress and high heels again. Ugh! Can't you make me play the Marine Moonies game instead?" he begged. Anzu crossed her arms. "No way. You like that game and I know why too."

Yugi was willing to get her off the subject of the Darbie game by talking about deeper details of why he liked the other game, even though he already knew why. "Tell me. Why do I like that game?"

"Well, you like it because the Marine Moonie girls' skirts always fly up when they fight and when they fall down. They have huge breasts which are sooo fake and- grrr! Oh, it makes me mad! I swear, there are more pantie shots in there than a shonen manga. To think it's supposed to be shoujo! Hmph!" Anzu began to feel more annoyed thinking about how the Marine Moonies manga was lately having a lot of fan service for guys. It made her sick. She used to like it before, but now it's all tight pantie rump shots, flying ultra short skirts, gigantic bulging breasts, and the Moonie girls were acting all ditzy. None were the heroines they were when the manga was first published. What had happened?

Anzu had to asked out loud. "What happened to that manga anyway? The artist is a woman, isn't she? Doesn't she understand how girls are looking up to the Marine Moonies? We don't wanna grow up to be bimbos!" she muttered. Yugi supplied a reason. "Maybe the lady who makes the story went lesbian? Maybe she thinks she's a guy now and maybe that's why there's male fan service?"

Anzu glared at him. She knew in high school how Yugi had a sicko fetish for lesbians, like many of the idiotic guys back then. It was all thanks to the porno magazines and movies out there. Anzu had seen Yugi's grandpa hide lesbian themed porno magazines on many occasions when she came to visit after school. Perhaps Mr. Mutou was the cause of Yugi's perverseness? Probably.

Anzu wondered if Yugi still had that sicko fetish. "I dunno maybe. I sure hope you got over that lessy smut. Right?" she asked, staring him down. Yugi blushed. "Well, umm, er-..." he squeaked, embarrassed.

She rolled her eyes. "I should have known. Oh well, it's alright, Yugi. I'm going get you to not care about that crud anymore." she said, getting up and going over to him. She bent over and whispered in his ear a good reason that got him smiling salaciously. Yugi purred. "I'm already forgetting about it. Whatever it was." he said playfully, flirting with her. She fanned his hand away from her rump. "Let's go to the arcade, Yugi. Then you can play Darbie with me! Hehee!"

Yugi began to plead. "Wait, wait! I never said I would! I-I...!" he cried as she walked away, determined to make him play that game. He followed her. Begging all the way to the arcade, Yugi soon found himself in front of the Darbie game. Embarrassed, he stared at it. He was unable to believe he was so close to the horrid game. It scared him.

"Hello! I'm Darbie! To play a two players game, please put in four quarters now-heehee!" the game said, as cute girly music played. Darbie was on the screen in a hot pink outfit. She looked so anorexic! Yugi liked girls that looked real, not ones that looked like stick figures. Darbie looked like a scary stick figure creature woman that had too many plastic surgeries done to her face.

Yugi liked seeing girls with shapely figures like Anzu and Marine Moonies. Seeing one (real or fake) otherwise, scared him. Darbie was so unbalanced-looking. Her proportions were all wrong. She had a small head, a pair of huge hulking breasts, a tiny ant-like waist, and legs that were way too skinny to support that weird looking body. He didn't mind the huge breasts part, but it was not enjoyable to look at when the rest of Darbie looked like an alien creature thing. Yuck!

Plus the animation was horrid. Darbie looked only two dimensional, another disturbing factor. Yugi didn't collect video games much, but some of the ones he did have were of beach babes playing volleyball in skimpy bathing suits. Those girls were very 3-D looking. He wouldn't have bought the game if they didn't look that way. They were animated well, complete with bouncing revealing breasts and rumps and excitable sexy squeals. They sounded real and looked real. Darbie was the poorest excuse for a game and with fake girls like that in it, it made it more so that way. If there was going to be girls in it, they better appear and sound real otherwise there would be nothing that would spark his interest.

"Go on, Yugi. Let's play." Anzu said, hugging him sideways as they stood before the frightening machine. "Oh, no! Anzu, please!" Yugi cried, trying to back away with her attached to him. She held him in place.

"Come on, silly! It's fun! We get to water gardens, rescue lost ponies, and dress dollies. You used to play dollies with me before when we were kids. What's wrong with virtual dollies?" she teased, looking at him with a smile on her face. Yugi sighed sadly. "I only did those girly things with you when we were little was because you could beat me up. I was afraid not to." he admitted. "Now, things are different. But even so, I'll play that game if it'll make you happy." He sighed again, giving up. Anzu snuggled him. "Oh, Yugi! You're still such a softie! I'm not going to make you play the game. I'm just pulling your leg. Let's play this other game over here." she said, pointing to a different machine.

It was a fighting monsters game where the monsters maimed each other to win. Whichever monster that killed the other monster by cutting off its extremities and head would win the battle. Since the volleyball beachie babes game was not here, Yugi was all for it. He liked this game and it was nice that it was still around after all this time. He used to play it back in high school pretending the monsters were the jerks who picked on him. He liked hacking them into bloody bits. It was very satisfying.

In went the quarters and the couple got ready to play the violent game. "Now, don't go easy on me, Yugi. I'm going to give it my all, so don't disappoint me." she told him. Yugi grinned. "Alright, I'll do my best." he told her. The game had three battle rounds in it. Almost instantly, Yugi easily beat Anzu in every round.

"Dah! Yugi, you didn't even give me a chance to hit you! Oh well. Heehee, how is it that you're so good at games?" she asked, tickling him. He laughed cutely as she wiggled her fingers at his sides. "Oh, I dunno. My name means 'game' anyway. Everyone's good at something."

The two lovers played some more games. The last they played was the air hockey game. Yugi let Anzu win on purpose. She knew he was letting her win, but she liked it anyway. On their way out, she nuzzled him. "Thanks for letting me win, Yugi."

"You're not mad at me?"

"Nah. You win and I win, it was all fun. Now, let's go see a movie. I bet there's a good one playing at the Creme-Pie Theater." Anzu grabbed his hand and pulled as she ran towards the direction of the theater. "Anzu!" Yugi cried due to her pulling him. She was in really high spirits.

A funny animated movie was playing about a blue little alien that escaped his planet to Earth in Hawaii and was adopted by a dysfunctional family who thought he was a dog. It was really comical and family-orientated values. Yugi laughed and laughed with Anzu. The movie was pretty good at relieving stress.

After the movie, Anzu decided again where they would go next. "I saw in the newspaper today in the hotel lobby that there's a carnival open. Not close though, we'll have to take a taxi, but it may cost a lot." she said sadly. She wanted to go there and ride the Ferris Wheel with Yugi. Hopefully they would get stuck up at the top so they could have some fun. But it wouldn't be fun to pay an arm and a leg to get there. What to do?

Yugi was thinking of a solution, when a familiar limo pulled up near them. The window rolled down. "Mokuba!" the couple cried in unison. "Hey, you two! I was looking everywhere for you guys. I was heading over to a carnival that's a bit far off. I thought maybe you would like to come along. I love carnivals, but it's not much fun to go without any friends. So what do you say?"

"We were just talking about how we were going to get there ourselves. We thought maybe by taxi-" Yugi began to explain but Mokuba gasped in shock. "A taxi? They're big rip-offs, especially going that far! Yugi, don't be afraid to call me to take you guys someplace. Come on, we're like family." the young Kaiba said, opening the door. "Get in here and let's get going."

The couple got in and Anzu happily enjoyed the cool leather limo seats once more. It was getting a tad hot out and she wondered if she had felt sweaty to Yugi. He wasn't, but she worried if she was. Not good for a girl to sweat, that leads to stinking later. She wished she had remembered to put on underarm deodorant before she rushed out of the hotel. Ugh, stupid!

Then Anzu noticed another person next to Mokuba. A pretty girl with long dark chestnut colored hair tied in a braided ponytail. "Hi!" she said in a very girly girl voice, similar to Miho's tone. "Hello there." Anzu replied, smiling. Yugi nodded his head in respect. "Hello."

Mokuba laughed, proudly. "This is my girlfriend Reka. She came to visit me from Japan and arrived today. I took her all over today. We had a lot of fun. Didn't we?" he asked, looking at her. She giggled and squealed with delight. "Mokuba-pi is sooo wonderful! He took me to the park and the movies and the mall and the skating rink and now we're going to the carnival! I love you, Mokuba-pi!" She hugged him happily.

Anzu watched her with wide eyes then giggled to herself. Reka was just like Miho, wow! She liked her. She seemed very nice. Yugi was happy for Mokuba. 'At least you're not so narrow-minded about women like your brother...' Yugi thought a bit scornfully. He knew if he said that out loud, Mokuba would bite his head off.

"So, Yugi. How's your leg feeling? Did Ni-sama's doctors help?" Mokuba asked, bright blue-gray eyes studying him. Yugi smiled. "My leg feels like new. The doctors gave me medicine that fixed everything. Thanks." Mokuba grinned back. "I'm glad. I was really worried that you were going to get worse."

"I would have if you didn't ask your brother to get those doctors to see me. I should have went to one myself, but I was having so much trouble with my aibou's wife; I just couldn't think straight." Yugi sighed. "So far, she seems to have gone away, but Anzu and I were almost killed in that elevator sabotage."

Mokuba grew serious. "I had my detectives check it out, but they didn't find much. Some fibers at the top of the elevator shaft. White hairs I think. Whoever did it must have had a cat or dog, that's what I think. No one has hair that white without dying it." Yugi, Mokuba, and Anzu all realized something at once. Anzu was the first to say it out loud.

"But Bakura has pure white hair like that!" Anzu cried, getting afraid. Was it Bakura who tried to kill them? But why? He didn't have that evil in him anymore. What was going on?

Mokuba held his chin in thought. Reka was confused by all this. "What are you talking about? Mokuba-pi?" The young Kaiba frowned. "We have to get a hair sample from him to compare the hairs from the elevator shaft. I'll make them do a DNA comparison too. Then we'll be sure."

"I hope it's not him. Bakura's all healed now and if we accuse him falsely, he might crack. He's fragile, you know." Anzu said. She remembered how Bakura used to go into yami mode and want to do many terrible things to everyone that he could. The real Ryou couldn't be evil like that, no way.

Mokuba agreed. "Don't worry. I'll make sure one hundred percent before we say anything. I'll get to the bottom of it all." he said, assuring them. Yugi did not feel so assured. His vision with Ryou returned to his mind's eye. 'Ryou said he's Zork and I'm Atemu... Zork wants to kill Atemu... That means Ryou wants to kill me. But we're not those people! I don't think it can be true. How can it be? I'm not a Pharaoh from 3,000 years ago, the other me was.' Yugi widened his eyes in surprise.

'Why do I call him, 'the other me' still? He's not me! I'm an individual! I am! I'm the only me there is!' Yugi thought angrily, squeezing his eyes shut. Being an individual was very important to him. It meant he was the real one and only Yugi. Not Atemu's shadow.

Reka suddenly let out a shriek, jarring Yugi out of his painful thoughts. "Yahoo! The carnival!" she cried, pointing out the left window. Soon Roland let them out close to the entrance and promised to return when Mokuba phoned. "See ya, Roland! I'll call when we're done."

"Yes, Mokuba-sama. Have a nice time." Roland drove away then. Mokuba stood in front of Yugi and put a hand down on his shoulder. The Kaiba brother was just about as tall as Seto, but Mokuba never looked down at Yugi.

"Well, Yugi-kun, you're free to go. Call me when you and Anzu are ready to go. We'll meet here. Alright?"

"Ah. Yes. Thank you again, Mokuba." Yugi replied. Reka waved as Mokuba headed off into the crowd. "Bye-bye!" Anzu giggled and waved back. Reka was so cute and funny. She was a good match for Mokuba.

Yugi turned his gaze to his mate. "Well, Anzu. What would you like us to do first here?" he asked, a breeze blowing his long golden bangs over his face. Anzu was awe-struck by his beauty then and felt inadequate. She knew she must be sweaty. The hot breezes that were blowing were cooling her skin down. Swimming in the pool might be a good thing to do first. She heard some water splashing nearby and people having fun so they wouldn't have to go far to get to the pool. And she did remember to bring some swimming suits along in her purse baggie thing... She was glad she thought ahead for this sort of thing.

"Let's go swimming, Yugi. It'll be fun!" she said, reaching into her purse baggie. "I even brought us swimming suits. I thought ahead. Heehee!" He agreed and they went off to the pool area. They had to separate to change into their swimming suits, even though Yugi wanted to go in the ladies room with Anzu. She kicked him out when he did follow her. "Yugi! Go over to the guy's room and change there! You crazy perv!" she scolded in a hiss.

Sheepishly, he did as he was told. He was glad that no one was recognizing him so he could go around his business without getting smothered by adoring fans and needing to sign someone's autograph book and whatnot. He wasn't hateful of it, but he liked being treated as a normal equal with other average people. He was that way to begin with and he liked it.

Meanwhile, Anzu was fretting over her stinky sweat problem. No deodorant was found in her baggie. She used to carry that stuff around, but she must have taken it out when she put in the swim suits and forgot to put it back in. 'Oh well, swimming in the pool might help me.' she thought, lacing up her bright lime yellow swim suit. It was a one piece, but had to be laced up the sides. She rubbed on some waterproof sunscreen and used the key the pool attendant gave her for a locker. She locked her baggie purse and valuables inside.

She headed out to the pool, which was oddly huge. It was good thing though since there was so many people. She looked for Yugi when she felt hands cover her eyes from behind. Something hard was pressed up against her rump. "Guess my name."

Anzu growled and threw his hands off. "Yugi! Get your fricken groin off my butt!" she hissed. He laughed and ducked as her fist came flying. "I can't help it, but to press up against you. Especially when you're in that hot tight bathing suit." he purred, getting hold of her again. He kissed and licked her neck then pulled away, spitting. "Ugh! Yuck!" he cried.

Anzu laughed. "I put on sunscreen, dummy! So keep your tongue to yourself. Hehee!" she said scornfully. Yugi wiped his mouth. "Ugh, it tastes terrible!" She pushed him playfully. "Serves you right, you pervert. Behave yourself in public." she said, pushing him again. Yugi gave her a cocky look. "Oh yeah right. Like you're so innocent and good. You couldn't control yourself back in BurgerWorld, so don't tell me about behaving." He took her into his arms again.

"I don't like behaving and you know it." he purred in her ear. She felt his skin and realized he didn't have any sunscreen on. It was getting hotter out and there were no clouds in the sky. "Yugi, you didn't put any sunscreen on did you?" she asked, testing his skin again. He liked it. "That's it, Anzu. Keep feeling me up." he teased, his fingers groping her back and getting dangerously close to her rump. "I'll feel you up too..." he whispered in her ear. He loved feeling her nearly naked body against his own bare skin. She pushed him off. "Come on. I'll go get some for you."

She went to the locker room as Yugi followed her close behind. "Locker 702, where was it now?" she mumbled to herself. She had to swat at Yugi several times as he tried to pull her swim suit to the side from her rump so he could get a better view of it. "Yugi, you animal! Keep your dirty hands to yourself!" she scolded. She didn't care much if he did stuff like this in private, but in public it was unacceptable. Not to mention embarrassing!

"There you are, you stupid locker." she grumbled and squatted. At last she had the bottle of sunscreen! Suddenly, she felt Yugi's hands go around her and slide down her inner thighs. "YUGI!" she yelled and stood up, causing him to fall on his butt. He laughed, having fun teasing her. She scowled. "Oh, you baka! Stop being bad! Here!" she said huffily, handing him the sunscreen.

Yugi's expression was sly. "Can you help put it on me, Anzu?" he asked, his beautiful purple confident eyes enchanted her. "Please?" His deep husky feathery tone washed away all her annoyance. She hated how she couldn't stay mad at him. He was just too sexy. He brushed his bangs out of his eyes and stood seductively. He put Otogi to shame!

In a trance, she smoothed on the sunscreen onto his back first while he carefully put it on his bad leg. He had to still be careful with it just in case. It felt fine though, so he didn't worry about it too much. Anzu was finished with his back then so she did his arms. Such strong powerful muscles he had. She remembered when he had noodle-arms before. Poor thing, everyone teased him even though the other boys had noodle-like arms as well. They just picked on poor Yugi because he was so short.

Now he was so different, it was mind-boggling. Anzu wondered if Yugi had healed from all the taunting he received in school. She didn't want to ask in fear it may open old wounds. She went in front of him and did his chest then. Even though she had seen and felt it before, she felt timid anyway. Blushing, she rubbed in the sunscreen under his watchful dominant gaze. She smoothed on the lotion onto his ribbed stomach, remembering long ago when they were kids, she had given him pink-bellies when he made her mad. No way she could do it to him anymore.

"Go lower..."

Anzu's head snapped up. She glared at him and stood up, her annoyance returning. "Yugi, will you quit it? I'm not going to-" She was cut short when he stood suddenly and kissed her hard. She could tell he was very aroused due to his hardened groin pressing against her. He stopped kissing so he whisper his vast love for her. His lips brushed against hers as he spoke softly. "I can't help it, Anzu. You look so sexy, it's turning me on. You're so good at that..." he purred, hugging her close.

Anzu sighed, shaking her head. "I'm sorry to make you feel bothered, Yugi." she said, feeling guilty. This was her fault, she shouldn't have worn such an appealing swimsuit. If Yugi got this way just looking at her, surely other perverts would too. She didn't like perverts, she could barely tolerate Yugi's naughtiness.

"I like you making me feel this way, Anzu. I enjoy it so..." he said, getting very amorous. Out of habit, he kissed her neck while dabbing with his tongue. He pulled away and spat. "Dan it!" he cursed, his tongue tasting all yucky and oily. "I forgot about the sunscreen again. Ugh!"

Anzu giggled, shaking her head. "Now I know what to do to make you stop being all humpy on me. I'll just put sunscreen on. Hahaa!" Yugi laughed sarcastically. "Ha. Ha. That stuff sure knows how to spoil the mood." he grumped. She patted his shoulder. "Come on, Mr. Bubbles. Let's go swimming." she said, teasing him. "Hey, I stopped wearing Mr. Bubbles boxers years ago!" he told her, walking side by side her. She acted shocked. "Eh? Really? You gave Mr. Bubbles up? That's so shocking!"

A playful strong squeeze to her buttocks caused her to give him a mean look. "Yugi!" He laughed. "Just getting you back for the Mr. Bubbles thing, Miss Mousey-dousey." He joked with her. She rolled her eyes. "You don't forget anything, do you?"

"Nope."

"Mr. Bubbles lover."

"Miss Mousey-dousey ate her housey-wousey."

"Yugi!" Anzu couldn't believe he remembered her saying that line back when they played house as children. She had a mouse doll that she had put a pink dress on and made a story about how the mouse doll got hungry enough to eat her house made of cheese. Whenever Yugi reminded her of it, it embarrassed her to death. What a babyish way to say it!

She tried to whack him, but he jumped out of the way and stood defiantly at the pool's edge. "Come and get me!" he teased, waving one golden bang like it was a tail of a mouse wiggling. "Roar!" She tried to tackle him, but he gracefully dodged and before she fell in, he grabbed her while holding onto a ladder railing. Holding her like a doll, he pulled her back into a standing position. "Let's go in together at the same time." he said smoothly. Before she could protest, they were in the pool.

Swimming was pretty fun, except whenever Yugi hid underwater and yanked on her toes to tease her. "Yugi, hehee! Silly!" she giggled after he pulled on her toes once more and resurfaced. He smiled at her. What she didn't know was he was trying to get a better view up between her legs and was pulling on her toes to get her to spread her legs. 'I haven't seen you for so long, I can't help to keep looking at your luscious body, my beloved Anzu...' he thought to himself. 'So beautiful...'

The couple went over to the pool's shallow end to sit on the edge of the cement. Yugi admired Anzu's wet sexy body more, fighting to control of his hormones. Her legs were so sleek and smooth. Her heavy thick breasts were so enticing with her hard nipples protruding from those twin orbs of fat and flesh. How he wanted to run his fingers over her and empty himself into her.

In turn, Anzu was admiring him back. Soft powerful muscles graced his body all over. His wet hair gave him a seductive look to his already appealing appearance. The way his blonde bangs hung down his face in wet strings as his impressive violet eyes stared at her with that cool confident dominant look, made Anzu shiver with hot delight. He was just so thrilling!

Just then, some pre-teens recognized Yugi. "Eh? It's Yugi Mutou!" cried a nice looking guy with teal hair. "No way, it IS him!" cried another boy with blonde hair. His other friend with red hair was surprised. "Awesome! Look at those muscles! He's got some pretty girl with him. Wow!"

"Yeah, look at the size of her breasts! Man, what a big butt she's has! Hot babe!" gushed the teal haired boy. "That's it, I'm going to work out everyday of my life now. If muscles can score a chick like that, I'm all for it!" The three young boys rushed over to him. "Yugi-san! Hi! We are you biggest fans! Can we have your autograph?" the teal haired teen asked. His two other friends magically had pens with them in their fanny packs around their waists.

Since Yugi was a very very nice person, he said sure. They had Duel Monster cards so Yugi signed them. The boys felt as if their lives were fulfilled. Anzu wished the kids would go away so she could go back to admiring Yugi again. She tried to tell them to get lost, but suddenly more fans appeared. They made Yugi busy signing autographs and answering dueling questions.

Annoyed, she got up to go to the bathroom and get her clothes back on so she could get Yugi to leave the pool. He usually went along with her decisions of when to go and where. Two different guys tried to pick her up along the way and she blew them both off angrily. How dare they try to make advances on her like that? She hated random perverts! ROAR!

She went to the locker room to get her things to change in the restrooms. She fondly fingered her friendship necklace Yugi had given her. Smiling to herself, she put it on and looked down at it. The big diamond shone back at her. 'So pretty...' she thought happily. She gathered up her stuff and got to her feet to change. Turning she saw Dawn!

"Having fun, are we?" Dawn asked in a strange voice. She wasn't in swimming clothes, just a regular outfit of red shorts and a white tank top. Anzu didn't trust her and she didn't like her tone. She gave her the evil eye.

"Yes. Why do you ask?" Anzu asked testily. Dawn stared her up and down, hating how Anzu looked good in her swimsuit. 'Slutty btch.' she thought with disgust. "No reason." she answered, wanting to claw her eyes out. The more she thought of it, the more angry she became. She could have easily had Yugi and his money by now if this whore hadn't shown up! She looked just like a stripper too. She had to be! By Dawn's biased thinking, she was sure that Anzu was a real slut and did not deserve Yugi or his money. Worthless trash!

Anzu 'hmphed' at her and closed her eyes, turning her nose up in the air as she walked by. Dawn stuck her foot out and Anzu fell on the hard cement floor. In shock from the pain in her knee, she struggled to get up. She felt tears building up in her narrowed eyes as heat spread on her cheeks. Dawn laughed as she stood near her to step on her belongings. "What's this? A Pretty Princess baggie? That's so kindergarten!" she jeered, twisting her heel over the poor bag to mess it up. "A baby slut, that's what you are!" Humiliated, Anzu felt tears drip down her cheeks. She loved the Pretty Princesses! It was not babyish at all! In Japan, it was trendy to have imported things from the USA. Even if American people deemed some of those things childish, it was cool in her country.

There was nothing wrong with the Pretty Princesses, nothing at all! In a rage, Anzu grabbed Dawn's leg while the evil lady was busy laughing and insulting her. She yanked her down onto the cement. Dawn, of course, shrieked and began to curse a lot of profanities at her. Soon, the two began to fight like wild cats. Scratching, clawing, kicking, and punching. Nothing was ruled out. The fight didn't last long since Anzu ended it quickly.

Dawn backed away from her, coughing and holding her gut. "You'll pay for this slut! I'm going to charge you with assault and battery!" she growled, struggling to not wince in pain. Anzu was about to snap back that she was going to be doing the same since Dawn tripped her first, when a male's voice said, "You'll be doing nothing of the sort!"

The girls turned to look and saw lovely Yugi, still in his swimming trunks. He went over to Anzu right away to see if she was hurt. "Are you alright?" he asked, brushing her thick bangs away from her forehead. "I think so." Anzu held onto him, letting him touch her all over to check for injuries. This made Dawn very angry and super jealous.

"Yugi! Did you see what happened?" she asked, a fist trembling while she continued to hold her gut. Yugi glared at her angrily. "Yes, I did."

"Then you know that she dragged me down and started to beat the hll out of me! You are my witness!" Dawn cried shrilly. Yugi grit his teeth. "Are you insane! My Anzu wouldn't hurt anyone unless there was a reason! You did something to her to make her fight with you, didn't you!" Anzu nodded, her knee still hurting. "Yeah, that ugly hussy tripped me when I tried to leave!"

Dawn growled and began to throw insults again. "F-ing slut! You stole Yugi away from me! I was going to ask him to marry me when you suddenly popped up! I don't know what he sees in you! You're ugly, stupid, and those breasts of yours are so obviously fake! Yugi deserves a hll a lot better than you! He deserves someone like me!" she practically shrieked, her voice a high-pitched screech now.

Anzu was in shock. Dawn said all the things she thought of her when she first saw that blonde bimbo. "Are you nuts? YOU'RE the one who's got the fake breasts, not me! YOU'RE ugly and YOU'RE stupid! He'd be tormented having a shtty hussy like YOU around him!"

"WHAT? WHY YOU DIRTY F-ING BTCH!" Dawn screamed. All that shrieking caused random other people, who were trying to get their things in the locker room, stop and watch with quiet interest.

"ENOUGH! That's enough! Dawn, how dare you show such disrespect to Anzu! I TOLD you I do NOT tolerate ANYONE talking down to her, do you hear me! I will NOT have it!" Yugi roared, his strong voice striking fear and awe in everyone who heard his anger. Dawn was shocked and taken back by his powerful tone. She wanted to be on his good side, so she faked an apology to Anzu then. Plus, she was scared of what Yugi may do to her if she didn't calm him down.

"Sorry about tripping you. I won't press any charges then, it's my fault. Sorry for being a jerk." she said quickly and left just as fast, fuming and she knew she had to put that plan that she and Lilianne had cooked up into action soon. 'Just you wait, slut. I'll get you yet! I'll ruin you!' she thought, storming away into the crowd.

Anzu watched the hussy leave and hmphed. "Pheromone hussy." she muttered under her breath. The random people watching slowly left, talking quietly amongst themselves. Yugi let out a shaky sigh. He leaned his arm against a locker, pressing his forehead against his forearm. "I-I almost couldn't control myself..." he squeaked, shivering. Anzu was confused. "What do you mean, Yugi?" she asked, concerned.

"I was this close to hitting her..." Yugi said in a stressed out tone, showing how close with his index finger and thumb. "I'd be so ashamed if I hit a woman..." Anzu hugged him. "It's alright, Yugi. 'Women' like her need to be hit."

Yugi shook his head. "I don't know, Anzu. I just don't. My mom taught me to never hit girls no matter what. She hit me a lot, but that's ok. She hit me whenever I was bad. It's not good for me to want to hit Dawn..." he admitted then. His fiancée got him to stand up straight and put his arms around her waist. "You want to protect me, that's all. There's nothing wrong with that." she told him, petting his handsome face tenderly. "Let's forget about her, Yugi. Come on. We'll get dressed and go on the Ferris Wheel now."

Yugi nodded. "Yes, I think that's best. To forget what happened just now. Let's go." He helped her gather all her things off the floor and put them safely in her baggie. Anzu remembered her necklace and checked it. It was still there, no damage visible. Good.

The couple changed back into their regular clothes and walked through the carnival to the Ferris Wheel when Anzu was attracted by other rides and games. "Ooo! Look at that, Yugi!" she said, pointing to water balloon game. Wanting to make her happy, Yugi played that game to win her a prize. Of course, he won easily and Anzu picked out a ballerina plushie. The toy had brown hair like her, which made Anzu envision herself as a ballerina someday. A famous one.

"I love her, Yugi!" she cried, hugging the stuffed doll. Yugi was happy for her. He knew how much she liked ballerinas and all things associated with it. "I'm glad, Anzu. Hey, a long twirl slide! Let's go on that. We can ride the Ferris Wheel later on." he said, suddenly making the decisions then. Anzu was all for it. As much as he agreed with her decisions, she agreed with his just as equally.

The couple waited in a short line to go on the slide. Soon, it was their turn to climb the steep spiraling stairway to the top of the cool slide. Anzu was glad that her knee wasn't hurting too much so she could have some fun. Setting a mat on the slide, Anzu got on and Yugi pushed her. He got on his own mat and followed her. Cheering all the way down, Anzu let Yugi fall onto her at the bottom. Giggling and laughing, Yugi got to his feet and helped her up. "That was fun!" they both cried in unison. They had to move when more people came down to the bottom of the slide. More laughing. Yugi was so happy to have Anzu with him like this.

It was like before back in high school, but better because he knew she was his. No wonder 'what if' this or that, she belonged to him. No matter what Dawn, Lilianne, or Kevin did, Anzu would always be his. And he was be hers. Forever.

Next they were intrigued by the bumper cars ride. Anzu scolded Yugi for trapping her in almost every corner they went by in the arena. But it was still a lot of fun for them both. The video game arcade was close by at the bumper cars. Yugi couldn't resist. Even though they were at an arcade before, they went to this one anyway. He played a fighter game with Anzu. They played five times and out of those times, Yugi won three times. Anzu won fair and square. Yugi made a few honest mistakes and lost twice. Next, he played games that gave him tickets so he could get another prize for his lover. Anzu helped by playing games like 'Mini Bowling Balls', 'Whack the Gators', and 'Shoot the Aliens'.

It took a while, but eventually Yugi and Anzu won enough tickets to get a CD clock radio boombox prize complete with a J-Pop karoke CD. It was small enough to fit in Anzu's baggie, which was nice. But it wasn't weak nor a piece of junk. It played music quite well at a strong volume after they got batteries for it.

Yugi and Anzu finally headed to the Ferris Wheel. It was the kind with open booths. The couple got into one and up they went. The sun was beginning to set. The sight was extremely beautiful, instantly giving Anzu romantic thoughts. She happily snuggled against Yugi, waiting for their booth to get stuck at the top. The wheel stopped when they were almost at the top and she deemed that good enough. They could see the sunset well enough even here, so she was satisfied.

"Yugi, isn't that sunset the prettiest you've ever seen?" she asked him, hugging him close. He nodded, putting his arm around her. "I know you might have heard this line before, but it can't compare to how pretty you are, Anzu." he said softly, his voice deep and regal. He made sure to keep his hormones under control. He didn't want to have his relationship with Anzu to slowly become a meaningless sex-all-the-time relationship. As fun as fumping was, it could easily consume a couple into being together only for that reason and such couples soon grow tired of one another. He didn't want that.

Anzu nestled under his chin and smiled. "I've heard that line before. But hearing you say it, it doesn't sound so corny." He rubbed her shoulder affectionately. "I missed many sunsets like this one without you. I'm glad I have this one to share with you." he said, his tone still quiet. He sounded so solemn and strong, Anzu kept getting tricked into thinking he was Atemu. It was a unconscious reflex or something. Well it didn't matter. She loved Yugi now and it would stay that way.

"It's been so many years. So much time lost. I wish you had called me when you were here all this time. You don't know how many sleepless nights I spent thinking and worrying you." Yugi went on. He shook his head then. "No, I should have looked for you. Well...I did, but I couldn't find you. But I should have looked harder. Maybe I would have been able to save you sooner. I'm sorry that I didn't try hard enough." Yugi sounded a tad upset and Anzu looked at him.

She was honored to know that he tried to look for her, that was enough for her to feel thankful towards him. He cared a lot about her. It took her a long time to figure that out, but she was so happy to have her eyes opened to the truth. "Yugi, I appreciate that you went looking for me. It shows me that you really care about me. And anyway, you did find me. Even if it was ten years later, you did still find me." she said, assuring him that he had tried his best.

Yugi sighed, still feeling bad. "I could have found you sooner, if I had tried harder. You had to suffer for so long." She gave him a stern look. "No, Yugi. You did just fine. None of it is your fault. It's my fault. I could have made it easier on you if I just called to tell you where I was. It could have been less than a few weeks if I did. But I didn't, so it was all my fault. Not yours. Don't blame yourself for it. Ok?"

The spiky multicolored haired man listened to her carefully and nodded. What she was saying was right. He was not responsible for her long term torment. He saved her from that torment and that was what mattered.

"Ok." he replied, holding her close. She snuggled under his chin again and rested a hand on his chest. Strong resistance met her gentle hand as she glided it over the smooth leather. She felt his arm go around her again and massage her shoulder. The lighting was perfect and there were some mild breezes blowing through the booth's open windows. Snuggling close like this made Anzu feel more amorous every passing moment. She also felt meek and timid at the same time.

She wondered how to suavely go about kissing him without doing it all wrong. Should she just look at him and do it? No, she wanted to do it smoothly and elegantly. As she was pondering on ways to do this, Yugi brought his hand up to her chin to tilt her head up towards him. Positioning her correctly, he gracefully kissed her. Soft gentle kisses repeated for several moments then they became strong and passionate, like the kisses Yugi gave her at the dueling school parking lot earlier that day.

He held her tightly to himself, never wanting to let go. He wanted to release all his desires upon her, but he knew he couldn't. It would be incredibly embarrassing to have to get off the ride halfway through an intercourse session. Instead, he pressed her deliciously sexy body against himself, enjoying every curve.

Anzu wasn't able to ignore her lust for him as well. The Ferris Wheel wasn't moving yet, so maybe...just maybe they could do it real quick. Just to relieve the tension. She was sure it could be done quickly, she had to try. She couldn't stand it anymore herself. She didn't care if they were in public or not. That's how bad off she was now.

She reached down and unzipped his pants, silencing him when he questioned her. "Anzu, what are you-...?" he squeaked. She covered his mouth. "Shh, it'll be ok. We'll just do it real quick. I just can't stand it anymore." she whispered, putting her skirt up a bit and straddled his lap. She pulled off one side of her panties and let them hang on her left leg. With herself exposed over him, she sat on his stiff manhood hard. Both gasped in hot lechery instantly. It felt **_so good_**!

As quietly as they could, the lovers bucked up and down. Freeing one of her breasts, Yugi hungrily suckled her. She bit her lip from moaning out. She was really enjoying this and from the pleasure-pain looks on Yugi's face, she could tell he was loving this too. A few moments later, he released hard up into her. He groaned his passion into her neck, muffling his delighted growls. She did the same, clutching onto his wild hair. Even though it was short, both partners were in deep ecstasy.

Quickly, Anzu put her panties back on and Yugi zipped up his pants. Laughing and giggling, they fixed each other's hair. The Ferris Wheel was moving when Yugi was emptying himself, so they had a close call. Anzu didn't know what she'd do they were caught having sex like that. It would be so embarrassing that it wouldn't be funny!

'Never again, that's for sure.' Anzu thought, unable to believe how irrationally she behaved. Leaving the ride, her legs felt weak from the hard fast bucking. But she felt better and satisfied now. She looked at Yugi and giggled. He put a hand behind his head and laughed nervously. "Boy, did we get away with **_that_**!" he said, feeling the same as she did.

Anzu smiled. "Yeah! What a close call, huh?" she asked, fairly sure no one knew what they did there. Yugi nodded. "Un! I'll say! I was about to panic when the ride was moving again. But we finished in time. I feel a little better now." he said, blushing. "Thank you, Anzu."

She beamed at him and tickled his sides again. He instantly bent over laughing. "No, thank you, Yugi..." she purred tickling him to death. He grabbed her arms and held them at her sides. She smiled as he smiled back. "Stop it, you tickling monster..." he purred. Suddenly, they hugged each other lovingly. "I love being with you..." Yugi whispered in her ear with much affection. She whispered the same back to him with great fondness.

The two shared a romantic tender kiss before pulling away, holding hands. "What do you want to do now?" Anzu asked him, staring happily into his gorgeous violet eyes. He was just so handsome, she could understand why Dawn wanted Yugi. Little did she know, that evil woman really only wanted him for his money. His long wavy blonde bangs glistened in the last bits of sunlight left while the rest of him was cast more into shadows. He looked like a magical fantasy, a beautiful illusion that a love-sick girl would try to dream up. Anzu was glad he wasn't a mirage. He was real and perfect and all hers. She would tear out all Dawn's bleach blonde hair out before she'd let her touch him again.

"Let's go on that big swing ride and then go back to the hotel." he said, beginning to worry if it got too dark. Bad evil people like to lurk out of their hiding places during the night. He didn't want anything bad to happen to her. The couple didn't know that more than one pair of eyes were watching them. Halfway to the swing ride, Yugi stopped since he was sure he was being followed. Even though there were pretty many people walking all around them, he could sense they were being stalked.

"Yugi? What's wrong?" Anzu asked, confused. She grew worried when he did not answer right away. "Yugi?" Without looking at her, he warned her. "Someone's following us...I think more than one person too." he told her. Anzu grew afraid. Since she was with Yugi, she didn't pay attention to anything like that. She felt completely safe and secure with him so she did not worry of such things happening while she was with him.

"Who do you think it is?" she whispered then. She make him walk away, fearing something bad would happen if they stayed there. Yugi faced forward, but kept looking out of the corners of his eyes both ways. He hoped to see these stalkers so he could find out who they were. He was pretty sure one of them was Lilianne...

They proceeded to the big swings and rode the ride, feeling tense. Who was following them? Once the ride was over, Yugi called Mokuba to tell them they were all done and wanted to leave. Mokuba told them to go to the entrance by themselves. He wasn't done yet. "I'll call Roland to go pick you guys up and take you to the hotel. See you tomorrow for the club thing. Bye!" the younger Kaiba hung up. Yugi tucked his cel phone away and took Anzu's hand. "Let's go, Anzu." he said.

He took Anzu near to the carnival's entrance when she told him she needed to go to the bathroom. "I'll try to be real quick. Be careful." she said and kissed his lips quickly. She hurried in so she could hurry out

While waiting, Yugi watched all the people around him intently, half expecting to see Lilianne somewhere. But he didn't. Then he thought he heard a familiar scream, a cry for help. Dawn? It came from behind the male's restrooms outside. He rushed to the back to inspect and saw a guy trying to rape Dawn. The contents of her purse was thrown all over the ground. It looked to be a rob-and-rape. "Yugi! Help me, Yugi! Help me, please!" she sobbed, trying to get the man off her.

"Kisama!" Yugi yelled and tore the jerk off her. Yugi easily defeated him by shoving into some trash cans, knocking him out. Then he helped Dawn up to her feet. "Are you alright?" he asked, worried for her. Even if she was bad to Anzu, she did apologize. Yugi wasn't sure if it was genuine, but he knew he had to help women in such situations no matter what.

"I'm fine. Thank you, Yugi." she said, smiling strangely then. Yugi didn't have a chance to react when strong arms went around him. A cloth with a terrible chemical poured on it was pressed against his nose and mouth. Struggling to escape, Yugi fought hard. He was able to tear away and looked at his attacker.

"Bakura-kun?" Yugi gasped, suddenly feeling dizzy. His friend looked different. His long white locks were cut shorter. His hair was more spiky and not so soft and smooth like before. His brown eyes were narrowed like his yami, while his lips were curled into a happy evil smile. "Yugi-kun, do you want to see your other self? I can take you to him." he said, very strangely. Like he knew something.

Yugi fought to clear his head. It was beginning to hurt due to the overwhelming dizziness. "What are you talking about? This whole thing was a trick, wasn't it? Dawn, how could you?" He wanted to glare at her, but he felt worse if he looked up. Looking down at the ground was all he could do as he held his head and gripped the wall near him.

Bakura didn't let her answer. "Come now, Yugi-kun. I was going to take you to your old friend and you accuse us of doing something wrong? That's naughty, Yugi-kun. I thought you were nice." he teased, not being the sweet kind Ryou he used to be. Yugi shook his head, but it only hurt him more. "I thought you were nice too..." he replied, slowly feeling drowsy. He knew if he stayed there, they could do whatever they wanted to him after he passed out.

Yugi turned to escape, but someone blocked his way. Then he saw massive furry black claws. He looked up carefully and saw Lilianne and that demon dog again. The dog looked like it was a living dead creature now. It's half rotting, bloody appearance was hideous and foul-smelling. The presence of the resurrected monster shocked Yugi. He stared at it in horror despite his dizziness, his violet eyes went wide with great fright.

It growled viciously at him and sprang to attack him. But Lilianne had the thing on a powerful magical chain so it wasn't able to leave her side. "Death, I told you to not to hurt him! He's our Pharaoh, you idiotic dog!" she scolded it. Death didn't care and growled at Yugi some more.

Yugi was so frightened, he lost his voice. He kept backing away and backed right up into Bakura. "What's wrong, Yugi-kun? Does the cute puppy-doggie scare you?" he said rather maliciously. Dawn had seen the monster dog before and wasn't bothered. "She'll let that thing go if you don't come with us." she said simply.

Bakura nodded. "That's right, Yugi-kun. But I'll show you that I'm still your friend by giving you a chance to escape." He walked gracefully to Lilianne and took her magical chain away from her. She began to protest, wanting the leash back. Death was her beast, no one else's! Bakura took the vicious zombie dog away from the escape route. Lilianne was clinging onto Bakura, bugging him to give the leash back. "Shut up! I'm not done with your animal! Bothersome woman!" he yelled at her, pushing her aside. She lost her balance and fell into some of the spilled trash that the raping actor had knocked over when Yugi fought him.

"How dare you!" she cried, blasting some magic at him. He easily deflected her attack and sent it back to her. It hit her in the face, silencing her into angry tears. Yugi didn't feel too much pity for her. It was her fault that he got to know of that dog's existence. She hurt him and Anzu, so he wasn't sorry to see her get hit. All he was worried about was getting out of there alive. "I'll give you five seconds, Yugi-kun. Let's see how fast you run." he said in a low voice, making Yugi believe he must be Yami Bakura somehow. "One..."

Yugi bolted as he heard Lilianne complain about him getting hurt. He realized how Dawn really was when he heard her say, "Don't forget! If he dies, I get all his assets! Money, everything!"

"I'll kill you if you let Death kill him! I will!" Lilianne shrieked. Yugi kept running the best he could in his dizzy state. He forced himself to not to succumb to the sleepiness he felt. He was sure he would be killed by that monster dog otherwise. For some weird reason the alley he was running through seemed to never end! It was more dark magic being used against him, he knew it. Seeing a fire escape, he jumped for the ladder, but missed a couple of times. He was too dizzy to see straight. On his third try he got a hold of it and did his best to pull himself up it. Death caught up to him and grabbed the end of his pant leg. This time it was left leg, the only good leg he had left. "**KISAMA GET AWAY FROM ME! SHITMATTA!**" he swore, yanking himself free. All Death got was a mouthful of ripped leather. Yugi had kicked the monster in the face while doing so which made the evil dog more angry.

The hideous creature leapt up at Yugi on the fire escape, barking viciously. It snapped its jaws over and over, sending gooey drool flying. Yugi began to climb the fire escape higher, but he was shaking from fear and dizziness so badly that he kept slipping and falling. He was exhausted trying to get away from that horrible demon. Not to mention feeling nauseated. His head hurt so badly.

He heard Lilianne screaming at Death and hitting it. It whimpered a few times, but went back to growling like it was its job. Yugi kept his eyes shut. He could no longer see right and felt like puking if he did open his eyes. He heard Bakura say in a kind voice, "Come down, Yugi-kun. I'll take you to your beloved Atemu. Won't you please come down?"

He wanted them to just go away and have Anzu find him. But he doubted that would happen. His brain pounded with dizziness as he felt himself getting more sleepy. But since he felt so sick, he couldn't sleep anyway. It was a good thing though. If he passed out, everything would be over. He knew any plans those three had for him down there was anything but good.

"He can't hear you, he's knocked out. I'll go get him." Dawn said, going to the ladder. Lilianne stopped her with much hostility. "**YOU** will **NOT**! He's **my** husband! You're _**not**_ going to touch him!" she yelled. "Harlots are **not** allowed to touch _**my**_ Pharaoh!"

Dawn was getting tired of being called such degrading things. "_**How dare you!**_ Why, I'll scratch your eyes out, you witch!" she roared and began fighting with her. Bakura did his best separating the two fighting females. He yelled at them. "Are you insane? Stop fighting each other, you foolish females!"

Yugi peeked through one eye and immediately a wave of nausea washed over him. He was beginning to wish he could sleep to escape this sick feeling. 'Help me, please...' he thought. '..Aibou...'

Suddenly, he felt like he was floating and his attackers' voices were fading away. He then felt a cool hand touching his face. He began to feel better quickly. More soft cool caressing, every touch made him feel less and less sick. Who was doing this? Carefully opening his eyes, he saw Black Magician's kind face smiling down at him. "Black Magician..?" he gasped, trying to get up. The duel monster helped Yugi sit up with much kindness.

Master, I will always protect you. My Pharaoh. 

"No, I'm not the Pharaoh. But, thank you, Black Magician."

You're welcome, Master. 

Then, he shimmered out of view. Yugi sighed. Why was everyone calling him the Pharaoh? He wasn't Atemu! Since he was feeling much better now, Yugi got to his feet. Looking around, he realized he was near the entrance of the carnival. He saw Anzu looking about the area. Her expression was of terrible worry. He went to her as fast as he could.

"Anzu! Anzu!"

She turned and as soon as she saw him, he was embracing her. "Oh, Yugi! Where were you? I looked everywhere! I thought maybe you went here since I took too long in the bathroom, but then I couldn't find you. I remembered you said we were being followed and I thought something bad happened. I'm so glad you're alright."

Yugi told her right away that something bad DID happen and that Bakura was very dangerous. Again. He told her about how Dawn tricked him into thinking she was in trouble and how Lilianne had her monster dog back and how all three of them tried to kidnap him.

Anzu was very upset and worried. She didn't think Lilianne would bother them again, but she could see now that was a foolish wish. "Oh no! We shouldn't have come here! Black Magician saved you?" she cried, fretting.

Yugi nodded. "Yes, he did. I probably would have been taken away by Bakura-kun if he didn't." Anzu shivered. Yugi's description of that Death monster dog chilled her to the bone. To think, a zombie living dead demon thing! And it wanted her fiancé as a chew toy! No, no no...

"Yugi, how can you call Bakura, Bakura-kun? He's not our friend!" She stared at him. Yugi looked sad. "I was sure he was my friend... Our friend." he said softly. Anzu huffed. "Well, he isn't anymore! He's crazy again and he probably was the one who tried to kill us in that elevator. I just have this feeling..."

Yugi lowered his eyes to the ground. "I feel that way too, Anzu..." Just then, Roland pulled up in the limo. "I'm sorry I'm late!" he called out the window. "I was stuck in traffic." Yugi and Anzu rushed into the back seat immediately. Yugi told Roland to take them back to the hotel as fast as he could. Yugi had to figure out some way to go to Brian's club the next night and not get attacked by Bakura, Lilianne, and Dawn. 'Why do bad things keep happening to me..?' he wondered. 'Am I cursed...?'

* * *

Bakura sat a table in a dark room, thinking over his next plan of action. Lilianne was petting her dog, Death in one corner. Dawn was sitting at the table across from Bakura. She thought he looked rather nice and wondered if she could start anything with him maybe. Only a few things stopped her from getting real close to him. He showed he could be very abusive and violent. He didn't have as much money as Yugi, from what she could tell. And he seemed kinda crazy. He was saying weird things about being an Ancient Egyptian tomb robber and that his original self was from the underworld. How could that be possible? It didn't make any sense.

Also there was a lot of what looked like human skeletons and bones laying about in his basement. His home was nice, but his basement looked like a torture chamber. She had asked him where the bones and junk came from and she received a disturbing answer. "Those are my past feasts." he had said. Soooo, he was a cannibal? Not safe to marry a guy who didn't mind eating people. It might not be worth it even if he had a lot more money than Yugi. Dawn wanted to live to enjoy the money, not get eaten!

"I'm leaving. Nothing is happening." Dawn said suddenly, standing up. Bakura glared. "You want something to happen?" he threatened, his brown eyes making her feel very small. "N-no... It's just it's boring to just sit here and do nothing." she complained.

"Oh, you're bored? I'll take care of that." he said strangely, making Dawn worry. She didn't like that nasty gleam in his eyes. Bakura snapped his fingers at Lilianne. "Oy, kisama! Woman, get over here!" he commanded. Lilianne ignored him.

Growling, he stood up and went over to her. He grabbed her by her hair and yanked her to her feet. "When _**I**_ tell **_you_** to come to me, _**you come**_! Understand, _**witch**_?" he hissed, roughly pulling on her hair to emphasize his words. Lilianne shrieked in pain. "**Stop it**! Death, help!"

The dog attacked, but quick as lightning, Bakura whipped out his knife from his pocket and stabbed it in the face. The dog howled in pain as blood sprayed. Death, even though wounded, attacked again. It succeeded biting him a little. Bakura stabbed it again and again. Since it was a zombie, it couldn't be killed. Only hurt. Bakura made sure it suffered for harming him.

Lilianne screamed and cried for him to stop, but he slashed the knife in her face. Holding onto her bleeding cheek, she glared. "Hateful thief! _**Hateful dirty wicked thief!**_ No wonder my husband hated the likes of you! That's why he destroyed you long ago!" she shrieked hoarsely. Death whimpered and was too injured to move.

"Listen to me, Royal Trash! Your idiotic husband never destroyed me! I'm still here, aren't I? Your fool of a husband was and is responsible for the massacre of my village. My people will have their revenge, you hear me! I'm going to beat this into you until you understand!"

"**NO NO NO**!"

Dawn listened to this and thought they were both nuts. What kind of insane people were they? Maybe she should leave and hire someone to just steal Yugi's money or something. Yugi after all was a very hot sexy man. It'd be a shame to kill off such a beauty. Dawn deemed Bakura way too dangerous to mess with. He wasn't this nutty earlier in the day. Hmph. Well, she would just leave and that would be that.

Just then, Lilianne was tossed near Dawn's feet. She got up, angry. "I'm only staying near you because you promised me that I would get my husband returned to me! You and I have a deal, thief! " Dawn rolled her eyes. What was this woman talking about? Yugi wasn't married to anyone, not even to that slut Anzu Mazaki. That Lilianne seemed more nutty than Bakura!

Silently, the evil Baku got something off a shelf. The women watched as Bakura opened a wooden box and removed two small glass bottles of some strange liquid. "Yes, Royal Trash. We did make a deal." he said, looking at Lilianne. Then he turned his gaze to Dawn. "I also made a deal with you as well. Now is the time I made good on it."

He tossed the bottles to them. "Whichever one of you brings me Yugi-kun gets to keep him. I can make him accept either one of you as his lover, slave, whatever you wish. For you Lilianne, I can rid the demons in him that cause him to think he's not your husband. And for you Dawn, I can make him give everything he has to you." Bakura said, lying. He had no intentions of making good on his deals. He needed Yugi as bait to make Atemu open the gates of Hell to release his original self, Zork. And that was all he cared about doing then.

He would tell Lilianne and Dawn anything to get them to kidnap Yugi successfully. If they couldn't get him together, maybe one of them could. Bakura was not going to waste time chasing after Yugi. He had more important matters to attend to.

Lilianne and Dawn were ecstatic, but soon realized they were rivals to each other. They glared at one another. They began to throw petty insults, trying to subdue the other into giving up. Since both were head-strong, neither backed down.

Bakura watched the show with some interest. Trusting they were all for kidnapping Yugi to the best of their abilities, he opened the basement door. "There's no time to waste, girls. Hurry and bring Yugi to me." he said simply, satisfied that the women were all for it. They left, still throwing insults at each other. Death followed Lilianne obediently. It growled at Bakura as it went by him and he kicked it. It yelped and ran after its master in a hurry.

Bakura laughed evilly. Soon, very soon, he would reawaken Atemu's original body and then he could finally open the gateway to release his original body into this time. Then the world would be his to rule forever. Something Atemu delayed for thousands of years. Something that would no longer be delayed by anyone.

Bakura walked to a special secret room. He entered it and covered his nose with his jacket sleeve. The stench was nothing pleasant. He walked over to an old shriveled corpse of a mummy. He looked at him and smiled.

"Soon, Prince-sama-yo...soon..." he said quietly. "You will rise again. But how can you? I know you're thinking that. Easy. I shall place a nice spell on you to have you consume ninety-nine souls to restore youth into your crumbling dusty frame."

He stopped, hearing faint protests coming from somewhere. Atemu's soul was lost wandering outside the underworld without a body. "Fool! You NEED a body to get out of this new limbo I put you in. Such a baka! Your beloved host sent you there without realizing it. I set it up when I crushed you in the underworld. I made you two believe you were together and you two could even communicate like how you would if you both were sharing a body. Why do you think I was there when your pretty Little Yugi came to 'save' you? Fine... If you don't want to return, you don't have to. I'll take care of Yugi for you. My host desired him for a gay lover. I can easily rekindle that and make things harder for you."

More protests. "I'm sorry, Atemu. I can't hear you very well. Maybe after you consume those souls, we can have a nice long talk. You can even watch me rape your precious Little Yugi...AND his girlfriend! MUHAHAHAAAA!"

Bakura could sense extreme cursing coming from Atemu, wherever he was wandering. "Then be a good Pharaoh and eat those innocent souls when I reawaken you. That's all you have to do. Then I can open the doors to Hell at last! And you know what else? After you rise again, you won't be stinking up my house anymore. I'll prepare your robes, your majesty. MU-MUHAHAHAAA!" He left the room and shut the door, leaving Atemu's corpse alone. Tears of his sorrow fell down his aibou's cheeks, who was confused by them...

**To Be Continued onto Chapter 5! Coming in Ch5: Bakura's evil plan is about to take flight! Atemu will become a raging zombie (once Bakura reawakens him) that must be stopped in order to stop Bakura! But Atemu and Yugi share the same pain if Atemu is stopped by violent means! What to do? Will Atemu and Yugi sacrifice themselves to save the world? Also which evil harlot will be able to kidnap Yugi and force him to be her lover? Lilianne and Dawn? Plus, Brian's dance club night is coming up! This and much more!**


	5. The Mind Invader

**No Longer Little Ch.5**

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All Yu-Gi-Oh! characters are copyright of Kazuki Takahashi and Konami.

Author Note: This is a sweet romantic-ish ficcy of Yugi and Anzu (Tea). Anzu goes to New York to start her dancing career but doesn't make it. She falls on hard times with depression and is forced to become a stripper instead to support herself. Too ashamed to contact her friends from high school, she is alone until Yugi finds her about ten years later. No longer is he a "Little Yugi" but rather a Yugi that is like Yami Yugi though even better since he surpassed him years before (see last episodes of the anime and manga). A great ficcy for those who love hetero hardcore romance and Yugi X Anzu lemon stuffs. :) R/R, please no flames! If you don't like Anzu or Yugi, just don't read this then. I don't want hateful reviews / flames from those who don't even like these characters.  
Also see the fic scene fanart piccys for this fic series at my websites:  
**http :// www. alaer art. com** and **http :// alaer. deviant Art. com** (remove all the spaces) Enjoy!

* * *

**No Longer Little**

**Chapter 5**

The night of Brian's Hot Spot grand showing of Yugi and Mokuba finally arrived. Of course, Brian was a nervous wreck while Sally did her best to calm him. "Everything will be fine, dear. Don't worry, they'll come!"

"But what if they don't? Oh, those loan sharks will eat me alive, I just know it! Why aren't they here yet?" he cried, fretting like mad. Sally sighed. "Don't worry! They'll be here any minute. Silly, Yugi and Mokuba wouldn't advertise on national TV that they would be coming here when they are not. Now make yourself useful and greet the guests! This'll be a formal night club party thingie. Now let's go!" Off they went to the front door and after the bouncer inspected the guests, he allowed them in to be greeted by Brian and Sally.

"Darling! Hi!" Sally said to practically all the guests. She couldn't wait to see Anzu's dress. It would be the most beautiful, she was sure. Yugi was loaded. He could buy her anything in the world. Maybe she would be wearing a dress made of real diamonds or something.

Then she heard Brian's happy cries of joy. "Thank you, Yugi! Mokuba! Oh man, thank you! Thank you guys so much for coming! You two don't know how much this means to me. Come in, come in!" he said, proudly showing off his club. Sally hurried over to see Anzu. She wasn't wearing a diamond dress, but instead a ruby red dress that sparkled like the real jewels.

"Oooh! Anzu! That dress is so so exquisite! It's like a dream!" she gushed, making her friend blush. Then Sally saw Mokuba and Yugi. "Oh! Yugi! That's such a cool outfit!" she cried, happy and nutty like a loon.

Yugi looked himself over confidently. He was wearing his favorite type of clothing. Tight midnight black leather studded with metal diamond-shaped silver decorations with a punk choker and arm bracelets. "Yes, it is." he said, simply. "What a lucky girl you are Anzu! Having a cool cool man like Yugi Mutou and he has a sweet sense of fashion! Meee-ow!" she praised. Her over abundance of gushing compliments was beginning to scare Yugi. "Uh, I think I'll go over there." he said, trying to get away. Brian grabbed his arm and boomed, "Yes! We'll let you ladies talk while we big strong men go off to where the guys go when the ladies talk! Ho ho ho!"

Yugi covered his face, mortified. Brian was more crazy than he thought. That was incredibly embarrassing. Anzu looked as abashed as Yugi felt. Sally went back to jabbering away at her then so Anzu was busy and couldn't help Yugi. Brian happily took the King of Games over to a corner where other guys were hanging about. "This is so cool! I get to show you off to my buddies." Brian said joyfully. Having Yugi near him made him feel like a celebrity himself.

"Don, Mark, Sam. This is-" Brian tried to say, but his friends knew who Yugi was. "Yugi Mutou! You really came here! I thought for sure Brian was pulling our legs! Say, can you sign my autograph book?" Sam asked, digging around in his pockets for the book. "Yes, we're your biggest fans! Aren't we, Donald?" Mark poked his friend. "Yup, yup, yup! The biggest of all. Could you sign this here for me?"

Yugi signed their autograph books and listened to them talk about their past times in the club. He worried some about Bakura trying something that night. Possibly Lilianne and Dawn may try to do him harm as well. He had to be ready just in case. More people came and eventually the party started. Yugi sang on the stage and danced with Anzu on the dance floor. Mokuba had his own personal news crew shoot the drawing for a lucky winner who would get to duel the King of Games. Since Mokuba could change the rules of the drawing, he said he would allow three winners to duel Yugi.

Still Yugi kept an eye out for Bakura, Lilianne, or Dawn. He had this feeling at least one of them would try to attack him or Anzu. He scanned the swarming crowd before them, but he did not see them. He mustn't let his guard down. Those insane people were out there. Waiting. Mokuba called out the first winner from the drawing. It was a young lady at the age of eighteen, who was in total awe for Yugi. She did not duel very well since she was too flustered to do her best.

Yugi was patient with her and even though she lost, he gave her a card from his deck. She hugged and kissed him much to Anzu's annoyance. The next winner was a guy about twenty years old with deep blue-black hair. He showed some good dueling skills that lowered Yugi's life points dangerously low. But as usual, Yugi pulled through out at the end and won. The man was not upset and enjoyed being lucky enough to duel the King of Games. Yugi also gave him a card which the man showed much appreciation for. The last winner was a Vivian! There was a break in between each duel, so the vixen had a chance to talk to her opponent.

"Long time no see, Yugi-pi!" Vivian squealed, sassy as ever. "Vivian! I didn't know you were here!" Yugi cried, surprised to see her. He hadn't seen her ever since Kaiba Corp's Grand Prix tournament. "Oh, yes! I had to come here after seeing you on TV! I missed you." After seeing Yugi's TV advertisement about his appearance at Brian's club, Vivian then knew about Anzu. She wasn't happy to know that one of her favorite men had someone in their life. She always dreamed to have both Yugi and Kaiba by her side as her lovers while dueling bad guys all over Asia.

Vivian figured that the duel she lost against him long ago meant nothing now. This time she would win and make him hers at long last! Yugi was pretty sure she wanted to make him her love slave now, especially if she won the duel. He would have to tell her off once and for all. He didn't want to be rude, but this was something that had to be done. With that troubled thought, he remembered to look through the crowd to see if he could spot his enemies. Still nothing. 'Well, that's a good thing.' he thought to himself, getting bored by Vivian's endless chatter over crazy fantasies she had of him recently. She also kept vowing that she would do her best and he'd better too.

Anzu remembered Vivian as well and was about to pry her off Yugi when a well-mannered man pulled her aside and began to tell her he was an agent who liked her dancing. She was very happy to be noticed at long last, but this was a bad time. Afraid if she put the man on hold, he may forget about her talent and go to someone else. So she stayed and talked with the agent. She growled as she watched Vivian do advances on poor Yugi from a distance. She would punish her later...

Even though Yugi wasn't sure if Anzu could see them or not, he feared Anzu would get the wrong idea and leave him for good. Vivian pretty much dragged him over to an empty booth and sat next to him, trapping him in. As she asked him about mediocre dueling rules and strategies, she kept playing with his bangs and massaging his shoulder. He told her to knock it off, but she did not heed. He knew what she was up to and stood up. He climbed out his seat and over the table to get away. He began to walk off. Vivian was surprised and irritated.

"Yugi-pi! I'm not done asking you about how this card works yet!" she cried, pouting. He turned his head to tell her, "I told you, I have a fiancée now and she's the only one allowed to touch me like that. I'm sorry, but all we'll be doing together is dueling and that's it. No bets and no nonsense about me being your love slave. How can you expect anyone to like you when you act like this? It's deplorable." He went off to find Anzu, leaving Vivian speechless and fairly upset.

Even though Anzu was busy talking to the agent, she was able to see what Yugi did and she was very pleased. The agent gave her a business card with his contact info and went away. Yugi made his way to her by then and she happily showed him the card. "Look, Yugi! An agent finally noticed me! I'm finally going to get my wish of being a famous dancer! Isn't that wonderful?" she cried, bubbling with excitement. Yugi hugged her hard. He was very happy for her. "That's great, Anzu!" he said, holding her hands. She brought herself close to him and snuggled under his chin.

"It's because you advertised for me on TV, that's why this happened. Thank you so much, Yugi. For everything." she said, truly grateful towards him. "I saw how you handled that witch, Vivian..." she said quietly. "That's a good boy..." She noticed Vivian was watching a short distance away so she kissed him rather sexily to show that hussy that Yugi was hers only.

Yugi was always glad to get kisses from Anzu and kissed her back in the same manner, infuriating Vivian. It made her want to beat Yugi at all costs during their duel. Soon, she got her chance, but since her thoughts were clouded with jealous hatred, she lost faster than the teenage girl who got to duel Yugi first.

At the end, Yugi was, as usual, nice and tried to give her a card too. But since she was still in a jealous rage, she refused it and walked out of the club. Many reporters floating about were writing notes. They would sell this juicy gossip to all the tabloids. They would write about Vivian's big blow out the next day to hopefully get rumors started so they could make a tidy profit.

After the dueling contest, Brian announced his girlfriend, Sally, was going to sing and perform a talent show. She had a magic act set up on the stage, complete with black top hats, doves, and rabbits. It was a cute show and Sally was good at entertaining the crowd. Then she told everyone it was time to dance again and the DJ started some fast-paced dancing music. Multi-colored lights flashed as heavy booming rhythm shook the dance floor.

Anzu happily danced with Yugi again and without thinking, lost herself in the music. She let herself go and danced like how she always wanted to. No cares or worries. She felt really happy to do what she loved to do. After five songs, the couple took a break and retreated to a booth to rest. Anzu couldn't help herself, but to dance more even though Yugi was getting tired. Sally appeared and asked the couple to dance with her. "Come on, this is a really fun song! Let's go!" she yelled, since the music was so loud. Anzu leapt up and they were about to go when they noticed Yugi still sitting.

"Yugi-bunny, come with us! We'll show ya some new moves!" Sally called. Yugi shook his head. "No thanks. I'm getting a little tired. You girls go on." he said loudly. Anzu had to make sure of something. "Does your leg hurt, Yugi?" she cried, trying to make herself heard over the noise. Yugi assured her his leg was alright. He only needed a rest. Sally pulled Anzu away then.

Yugi sighed and thought. This night was too much for him. Three duels in a row all at once was not easy to do with tons of people watching him in person and on TV. Of course, he had done tournaments like that with cameras and people watching him, but that had been years ago. Seto didn't allow Yugi to duel in full tournaments for the last six years since he bitterly mentioned what was the point in letting him. He would beat everyone and he would win like usual. Seto was sick of seeing it and forbid him to be in tournaments ever since.

Seto only allowed Yugi to duel as a prize duelist for the finalists from any full tournaments Kaiba Corp held. Other than that, he was not allowed to duel publicly. So for the past six years, Yugi dueled tournament finalists and trained college grads into dueling teachers. While he sat, Yugi wondered if he was being paranoid. There was no sign of Bakura, Lilianne, or Dawn. Maybe he should just loosen up and relax. Before he could decide, Brian came by, smiling like a loon.

"Hey there, Yugi! My main man! Whatcha' doing!?" he yelled, sitting across from him. Yugi gave him a watery smile. "I'm just thinking." he said, his voice was naturally strong enough to be heard without him needing to yell. "Thinking, huh!? That's cool! Whatcha' thinking 'bout, man!?" Brian offered him a beer, but Yugi refused. He never drank such things. Yugi had seen Jounouchi's father enough times to know what beer can do to anyone. He'd rather not become fat nor a belligerent drunk.

"Just things. That's all." Yugi answered, not wanting to burden Brian's limited mind to his troubles. He asked to be excused. Ever since last night, he was feeling very sad. Without any warning, tears would stream down his cheeks and he didn't know why he was so sad. Anzu was worried about it all day, but he didn't want her to be alarmed, so he told her it was probably just allergies. Somehow she believed that since she didn't want anything to be wrong, plus she had no idea what could be making him tear like that. He wished he had a more quiet place to be, he felt a headache starting to come on. "Um, is there somewhere I can go that's quiet? This noise is bothering me." he told Brian, who immediately wanted to remedy the problem.

"Oh, man! I'm so sorry! I'll go tell the DJ to turn the music down for you if you want. I-" Yugi had to cut him off. "No, you don't need to do that. I just have a slight headache. I want to go somewhere quiet." Yugi was feeling a strong sense of sorrow falling over him again. He didn't want Brian asking him a million questions about anything right then. He wanted to be alone in silence.

Brian understood. Yugi must be feeling worn out and needed a timeout. He lead him to a back room where his office was. He didn't want Yugi to get annoyed and leave. Not now. His life depended on Yugi being there that night, _all_ night. "It's usually pretty quiet here. If you need it, there's some aspirin in my desk and the water fountain's to your left. You can come back out whenever you're up to it." Brian said.

Yugi nodded. "Thanks, Brian." He nodded back, satisfied that Yugi wasn't going to leave. "Hope you feel cool soon." he said and shut the door.

Yugi sat in a chair in front of Brian's desk and sighed. He looked up at the clock on the wall in front of him. Ten thirty-eight. 'Sleeping in bed would be nice right about now...' he thought to himself. He could faintly hear the music pounding behind him. Rubbing his temples, he groaned. His head was beginning to hurt more. It hurt earlier that day, but not this bad. The pain was worse than before. It was like a migraine. He shook his head, trying to will the pain away.

_'Yugi..!'_

Yugi gasped and held his head. The searing pain went up ten notches. It was so terrible that he could barely stand it. "Uuughh!!! Erruugghh!!" he cried, clutching his skull tightly. Even though his eyes were squeezed shut, he could see everything in his thoughts.

An intruder was trying to break into his mind! He could see a shadowy figure floating outside his soul room's window. "Who are you!?" Yugi yelled, angrily. He could feel the pain just the same here. "Go away! Leave me alone!" He collapsed onto the floor. He looked up a few times, his agony fogging his vision. "Aibou, let me in!"

Yugi realized that it was Atemu! But why was he causing him so much pain? He went up to the window and almost opened it. But he stopped. "Aibou! Open it, please!"

In a daze, Yugi hesitated. He feared this may be another trick from Bakura. Was this really Atemu? He didn't want to let someone dangerous in his mind. What if this wasn't Atemu, but evil Bakura himself?

"I need you, Aibou... Please!" Atemu begged, the pain he was feeling was the same pain Yugi was feeling. That was why he needed to return to Yugi. Being near Yugi made him feel his pain. "This agony you feel, is the same discomfort I feel! I can't escape this suffering without a body! Please, aibou! When you went to Egypt to send me to the underworld, Bakura tricked us and sent me into limbo in the living world!"

Yugi knew he was right about his nagging feeling from before about what happened to Atemu. "Bakura plans to reawaken my original body by having me kill ninety-nine souls for revenge for his people being sacrificed for the Millennium Items! If he succeeds in reviving my old body like that, he will be able to release Zork from the underworld! I'm hoping that if I can reside in your body, he can't reawaken my original body, thus he can't open the gateway. Now, hurry, Yugi! Open the window and let me in!" Atemu cried.

Yugi's hand trembled as he reached to unlock the window. He had second thoughts. What about Anzu? 'I don't want to share Anzu with you...' he thought. 'But I'll have to to save the world... Kuso!' He stopped right before he grabbed the lock to open it. "Aibou, hurry!"

"How...do I know it's really you...?" he asked, tears filling up his shining purple eyes. "How do I know this isn't a trick by Bakura?" Atemu's eyes showed him great hurt. "Can't you tell by looking at me?" he said, then he looked directly in his aibou's eyes. 'Can't you hear me inside your thoughts? Are not our souls still bonded?'

The lump in Yugi's throat was strangling him. How could Atemu talk to him telepathically without even being inside his body!? Wasn't Yugi an individual? Or was he just Atemu's shadow? What did this all mean?!?

Maybe it meant that this was really Atemu. He had to let him in. He couldn't be selfish and not help him save the world again. Plus, he did miss him. Reluctantly, he unlocked the window and opened it. Atemu floated in and the window shut by itself. Atemu locked it and turned to Yugi.

Atemu's arms went around him fast. Yugi put his arms around him, returning the embrace. He felt much warmth from hugging him. The pain left them both as soon as Atemu was safely inside his mind. "Other me..." he said, holding him tighter to himself. "I missed you..."

I missed you too, aibou." Atemu told him, burying face into Yugi's neck. "I felt so alone and sorrowful without you." Yugi didn't want to admit that he felt the same. He was sure he didn't need Atemu anymore, especially since he didn't want him around when he was with Anzu. But he had this nagging feeling that he may need him around to stop Bakura, but with Atemu back, Anzu might rekindle her old feelings for him and Yugi feared he might lose her.

Atemu could sense Yugi's doubts about his return. He looked at him hard. "Aibou, I promise you, I will not interfere with your relationship with Anzu. You don't have to worry about me. We have something more important to be concerned about."

Yugi had to agree. "Yes. Bakura and your wife Lilianne. And my co-worker Dawn. She seems to be on Bakura's side too. They tried to abduct me yesterday." He allowed Atemu to read his memories to show him what happened. Atemu narrowed his eyes. "How dare they hurt you! I'll personally mind-crush them all! No one trespasses on my aibou's soul and gets away with it!"

Yugi turned away. "Yeah well, we have to wait until they show up again. But I don't want you to kill anyone. I know how carried away you can get. With your rage and all." Atemu put his hands on his shoulders. "I promise I will not kill them. I'll simply render their minds immobile. That's alright, isn't it? For safety reasons, of course."

Yugi gave him a look. "I'll be held responsible for what you do in my body, so watch it. If I need your help, I'll ask for it. I suppose now Bakura can't raise your original body from the dead without your soul, so he's stuck. I just gotta figure out how to get you back to the underworld without any problems."

Atemu seemed worried. "Yes, but we must make sure of everything before we do that. I don't want to be released in that horrible limbo again. It was very painful..."

"Don't worry. I won't let it happen again." Yugi assured him. "You'd better worry...Muhahaa!" a voice said. The continuing evil laughter made them alert and look about. "Who's there?!" Atemu bellowed. The laughing got louder and when they turned, they saw him. Bakura!

"Bakura! What are you doing here?" Yugi cried, not liking this. How was he able to get into his mind?! Bakura flipped his spiky white mane over his shoulder with a cocky smile on his pretty face. "Easy. I had long before fused a part of my soul with a piece of the Millennium Puzzle, so I can enter in your mind here, Yugi. Don't think you can protect him!" Bakura pointed at Atemu, sneering.

"You haven't stopped my plans. Not at all. I WILL resurrect the Pharaoh's body with or without his soul. I can use my own soul to will his flesh, so don't think that will stop me!" Bakura yelled, lying. He depended on having Atemu's soul returned to his original body, otherwise his revenge would be ruined. He could easily trick them into doing what he wanted.

"He WILL devour all the pure souls as I command him to do! You can try and fight my control I will soon have over his body, but you both will have some rather shocking feedback if you do. Believe me. Just keep your eyes open and ears ready. I'll be the one who decides when the carnage happens... It'll be when you least expect it... When the bloodcurdling screams begin and bodies of the innocent litter the land, that's when the Pharaoh walks again!" Bakura laughed evilly some more sending chills through Atemu and Yugi.

"Many will soon die and it will all be because of you, Prince-sama-yo!" Bakura grinned, his sharp canines showing. It gave him a demonic appearance. "Then I shall use those innocent souls to finally resurrect MY original self from the depths of Hell! At long last, I will RULE this earth! Like how I should have if you didn't interfere before, Pharaoh!" he growled, showing utmost hatred.

"I swear with all the life I have left in me, I will stop you, Bakura!" Atemu yelled, very upset. The evil Baku wagged a finger at him. "Naughty, Pharaoh. Such a hero and you don't even know what's happening right now to you and your sweet Little Yugi. You won't have any life in that body if you keep staying in it."

"What do you mean?" Yugi asked, growing worried. This sounded bad. "It's simple. If you continue to allow Atemu to stay within you, your souls will merge into one. You both will lose your original identities and you, Yugi, will be the true reborn soul of the Pharaoh. You were supposed to be anyway, but since the Pharaoh was trapped in limbo and was unable to accept his new life and body, fate created you in his image. Fate doesn't wait for anyone and all new lives must be made even if the ones who are supposed to claim them aren't there. That is why you are here. And for me as well. The Great Thief King was trapped with the Pharaoh and so I was made to wait for him." Bakura explained some more.

"All of it is a dilemma. Well, only for you perhaps. Once the soul merging is complete, the body dies soon after. When this body dies, I will already be in my original body, so I'm not concerned. I suppose you may not wish to merge with the Pharaoh... It's hard to share a woman you love, isn't it, Yugi-kun? Especially when both of your lives are on the line..."

Yugi bit his lip. He would lose his originality and individuality if Atemu merged with him, plus he would die! Atemu would too. This was terrible! He couldn't ever merge with Atemu. Never! He did not want to share Anzu with him and he did not want Atemu to die, especially not himself as well.

He also didn't want Ryou to die. It seemed like he didn't mind merging with the evil Thief King and was going along with all this terrible evilness! That was NOT like poor sweet innocent Ryou! He just had to get through to him. He just had to!

Atemu could feel all his aibou's raging emotions. He began to fear that Yugi may shut him out of his mind. He couldn't accept going back to his original body when it was going to be resurrected to be used for evil. "Don't listen to him, Yugi! He's lying!" Bakura laughed loud and long. "FOOL! I am speaking of what will happen to BOTH of us in due time! I've accepted my fate. Have you?"

Yugi didn't want to accept any of this. He wanted to be himself and that was it. Atemu had to return to his original body, but what about that ninety-nine souls thing? He didn't want innocent people to die. He couldn't put Atemu through that, but it was beginning to look like he had no choice. This was very bad.

Since Yugi didn't answer, Bakura scoffed at him. "Pathetic fool. You actually do have choice though. You can accept your fate of merging with the Pharaoh and just die off. Or if you don't merge, he will be automatically returned to his original body by default. Whether he likes it or not." he said, telling the truth this time.

Bakura did care if they did or didn't merge. They really couldn't fully merge unless they both agreed to it. Bakura needed Atemu's soul to be back in his original body so he could be resurrected and sacrificed to open the gateway.

The gateway needed one hundred powerful souls and after Atemu devoured the ninety-nine souls, that energy, plus the energy from his soul would do the job nicely. After merging, it took some time for the body to break down and die, so Bakura would have plenty of time to use Atemu to open the gateway after Ryou merged fully with the Thief King. Even though Ryou was not him yet, he was being heavily influenced by him as if he was already merged with him. So strong was his evil aibou's power over him.

"W-well, that's what's going to have to happen then..." Yugi finally said, reluctantly making up his mind. Bakura grinned to himself evilly. He had him! Atemu's body will walk again just like he had planned.

"Aibou! What are you saying? Are you just going to let him do all this?" Atemu protested. Yugi glared at him. "Would you rather have us merge and then die!? How can we stop him if we're dead? This is better this way!" he yelled. Bakura's smile couldn't get any wider. This was what he needed. Turmoil and disagreement between those two.

"No, there's another way! Trust me! I don't believe him when he says he can use his soul to resurrect my body! He can't do such a thing since my body has been dead for so long." Atemu said, trying to convince him. "If I return to my first body, chaos will occur and you and I both will be responsible for many deaths! Do you want that? In that case, it's better that we die instead!"

"We're the only ones who can stop him! We can't die! I won't leave Anzu like that!"

"You don't have to! If you can just return me to the underworld, I can try to fix this!"

"We don't have any time left! I would have to go back to Egypt again to do that and it takes up too much time! All we can do now is have you go back to your original body and try to break the spell he has on you there. I'll do the rest." Yugi said, noticing the weird happy expressions from Bakura. It was like he wanted Atemu to go back to his original body. He said he could make Atemu's body come alive without his soul, but why did he seem so eager to have Atemu return to his original body anyway?

This must be another trick! Bakura probably did need Atemu's soul in the body to resurrect it, that must be why he looked so happy when Yugi didn't want to merge with Atemu. But then, Yugi realized he didn't care. He couldn't merge with Atemu when it meant death for them both. Yugi didn't know that he had to agree to it for it to happen. He believed it would happen by itself if Atemu continued to stay inside him. So he wanted him out. Now.

Even though it tore him apart inside, he had to have Atemu depart from his mind, body, and soul. Forever. "You must leave, other me. You can't stay here anymore. I don't want our souls to be bonded." Yugi said, looking away sadly. He hated to do this to him, but he had to. He refused to merge with him and that was that.

The painful look of anguish upon Atemu's face brought tears to Yugi's eyes. "Aibou..." Atemu said, his voice heavy with great sorrow. Rivers flowed down his cheeks as he stared at him, his heart broken. Bakura's evil laughter filled the air as Atemu faded from view and everything went black.

Yugi woke up, startled. His heart thundered in his chest as he gasped for air. "Was that...all a dream?" he whispered to himself. He was still in Brian's office sitting in the chair. Looking at the clock, he realized only ten minutes had gone by. His terrible migraine was gone. He wondered if what he saw in his mind really happened or not. It seemed real, but now that he was fully conscious, it didn't. It was like one of those dreams that seem so real that you could swear that you were awake, but you weren't. This bothered him greatly...

**To Be Continued!**


	6. Pharaoh Friend No More

**No Longer Little Ch. 6**

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All Yu-Gi-Oh! characters are copyright of Kazuki Takahashi and Konami.

Author Note: This is a sweet romantic-ish ficcy of Yugi and Anzu (Tea). Anzu goes to New York to start her dancing career but doesn't make it. She falls on hard times with depression and is forced to become a stripper instead to support herself. Too ashamed to contact her friends from high school, she is alone until Yugi finds her about ten years later. No longer is he a "Little Yugi" but rather a Yugi that is like Yami Yugi though even better since he surpassed him years before (see last episodes of the anime and manga). A great ficcy for those who love hetero hardcore romance and Yugi X Anzu lemon stuffs. :) R/R, please no flames! If you don't like Anzu or Yugi, just don't read this then. I don't want hateful reviews / flames from those who don't even like these characters.  
Also see the fic scene fanart piccys for this fic series at my websites:  
**http :// www. alaer art. com** and **http :// alaer. deviant Art. com** (remove all the spaces) Enjoy!

* * *

**No Longer Little**

**Chapter 6**

The next morning, Yugi and Anzu went out to eat breakfast. Yugi didn't want to worry Anzu about what happened in his mind, so he didn't tell her about it. He wanted to, but she seemed so happy about that talent agent, he couldn't make her fret about something he wasn't sure even happened. Maybe it was all a trick from Bakura to make him go crazy with worry and not keep a sharp eye out for him or his flunkies. He hoped so. It was too terrible to accept having Atemu's dead body walk again and eating innocent people like a zombie mummy creature from a bad horror movie.

They went to a nice cafe that Anzu recommended and they sat down. Yugi ordered for them both and the food was served quickly. As they ate, he listened partially of Anzu's happy talk of the talent agent guy. He looked out the window and saw a newspaper rack. The headline on the front page made his blood run cold. He leapt up and ran out to get a closer look at the newspaper despite Anzu's confused protests. "Yugi?? Where are you-?" She watched him go buy a newspaper and stand there reading it. She could tell something was terribly wrong from the horror on his face.

She went outside and stood next to him. "Yugi! Yugi? What happened? Why do you look like that?" she asked, getting scared when he didn't answer for a minute. Anzu peeked at the newspaper. It read:

_**Strange Mummy Creature Kills Ten Children At Local School**_

****Confused, Anzu looked at Yugi. "Mummy creature? What's that supposed to mean? Ten kids killed? That's terrible!" she cried, taking the newspaper away from her fiancé. "It says some mummy thing attacked and killed ten students at Clear Water School on 8th Market Street. Students ranged from first grade to the fifth grade. Is this for real?" she asked.

Yugi bit his lip. What happened in his mind at Brian's night club **really did** happen! Maybe he should have left Atemu inside his body, then Bakura couldn't have used him to murder innocent children. He let it happen! This was his fault! He should be the one to die, not poor little kids. He felt so guilty. He was responsible somewhat!

"A-Anzu... I have to tell you something..." he said, shaking with shame and fear. He knew he couldn't get her to believe any lies about why he looked so horrified when he read that newspaper. As long as Bakura and his followers roamed free, there would be no peace for Yugi or Anzu.

He told her everything that happened in his mind as briefly as he could and finally revealed the real reason why he was crying yesterday. Anzu was in great shock. "How could Bakura do this??" she cried, slapping the newspaper. She felt angry, in fact, she was furious. But her rage was easily replaced with fear. Atemu was a raging hungry mummy and anyone could be the next victim. "What can we do to stop him, Yugi?" she asked, hoping he had a plan.

Yugi was having a hard time dealing with the guilt his heart was heavy with. "I should have merged with Atemu and then died. It's my fault those kids got killed..." he whispered, mortified. He was a murderer!

Anzu made him look into her blue eyes. "No! Yugi, no way is this your fault! Do NOT blame yourself! This is Bakura's doing! HE'S the one who's responsible, not you!" she cried, holding onto his arms. He looked away and let out a shaky sigh. "I could have prevented this..." he said softly, tears streaming down his cheeks.

Defiantly, she shook her head. "No! Even if you sacrificed yourself, there's no guarantee that Bakura would have given up. He would have found a different way to get those souls. Stop blaming yourself." She hugged him hard, trying to reassure him. He fought hard to believe her. "Alright. The damage is already done. Perhaps the souls can be returned to their owners." he said, praying this was true.

"You mean like how the souls stolen from Dartz were returned?"

"Yes."

"I certainly hope so."

Yugi knew he had to find Atemu right away and stop him. But where could he be? Yugi banished him from his mind. Perhaps the Millennium Puzzle could locate him! He cradled the golden pyramid in his hands and looked at her. "Anzu, we must find him before he takes any more souls. I'm pretty sure my puzzle can find him for us."

Anzu nodded. "Yes, let's go and get him to stop. This isn't right." she said, feeling creepy. Atemu was her friend and past puppy-love crush. Now he was an ancient, decaying mummy zombie creature devouring little kids' souls to help Bakura. He obviously must be under some spell from the evil dove. He couldn't ever accept such evilness, never!

Yugi closed his eyes while holding the puzzle. _'Help me find him... Show me where my aibou is at...'_ He squeezed his eyes tighter and searched vigorously through the thick darkness. Suddenly, in his mind, Bakura appeared out of black veil of night and his hands went around Yugi's throat lightning fast. **_"DON'T YOU DARE TRY TO FIND HIM! LEAVE!!!"_** Evil Bakura screamed, choking harder.

Caught off guard, Yugi nearly retreated back to consciousness, but instead he retaliated. "**THIS IS MY MIND! GET OUT OF HERE!!!**" he yelled, furious. Without thinking, he willed a razor-sharp dagger to materialize on top of his right hand. He used his left hand to break free from the choke-hold. Bakura came after him again, trying to bite him this time. Yugi punched Bakura in the gut, plunging the blade deep into his enemy. The evil dove shrieked and spat out an excessive amount of blood. He continued to scream and shriek until he literally crumbled into a pile of onyx dust.

Yugi then saw a clear vision of Atemu at some large park. He explained what he saw to Anzu. "Central Park!" she cried. "It's not too far from here. We got to hurry!" The couple rushed off to the park as fast as they could. Every step they took closer to it, brought more dread to Yugi. What could he say to Atemu? Allow him back into his mind? Was it possible at this point? If he let him back in, they would merge and die. What could he do to stop Bakura's evil spell on him?

Once they were at the park, they looked around. Almost immediately they noticed the grassy ground covered with shriveled-up dead human bodies. No way did these bodies look like they could be brought back to life even if their souls were returned to them! Anzu covered her mouth in horror at the carnage.

Yugi grit his teeth. He had just about enough of this! "Bakura! Stop this right now!" he bellowed, scaring Anzu out of her skin. He sounded so furious, it wasn't funny. Eerie laughter plagued the air. Yugi went to Anzu and held her close to protect her. "Stop this insane killing!"

Quick as lightning, something tackled Yugi and knocked him down to the ground. Anzu shrieked. It all happened so fast, they both didn't know what happened until about a second later. The familiar vicious snarling, growling, and snapping jaws threw Yugi into his worst nightmare. Death tried to fit his mouth over the poor man's head when it was yanked back on a magical chain. Bakura laughed insanely as he kept the monster by his side.

Anzu ran to Yugi, fretting over him. "Yugi! Are you alright?" she squeaked, seeing the minor cuts on his arms from fighting the animal off. Yugi was pushed over the edge. He took more than he could stand. He hated that monster dog with every fiber of his being. It always managed to destroy all the confidence and power he had in him. It reminded him the miserable times he spent trapped with Lilianne in her magical dome. It made him feel graceless and foolish every time it attacked him. It brought out the worst in him.

"**BAKURA!!! KISAMA!! GET THAT HIDEOUS FING CREATURE _AWAY_ FROM ME!!! I SWEAR I'LL KILL IT!!!**" Yugi roared, angry tears in his eyes. That stupid dog always humiliated him. And now, it caught him off guard. All in front of Anzu! Unforgivable!

Bakura giggled away. "Such rage! Too bad it doesn't compare to mine..." he sneered suddenly. Yugi slammed his fists into the earth. "I had **NOTHING** to do with your people being killed! **I AM NOT THE PHARAOH!!!**" he yelled, hoarsely. Anzu grew uneasy from her fiancé's great fury.

Bakura was feeling just as irate, but his show of it was much quieter, which turned out to be more frightening. "Oh no? Well, I know someone who begs to differ..."

A whip flew out of nowhere and nearly hit Yugi. The couple turned and stared to a bandaged figure whose face was also covered up with the old ancient wrappings. Both were too shocked to speak at first. Then Anzu squeaked his name.

"Atemu...?"

The pharaoh yanked back on his whip and showed no fellowship. "Other me, stop this! Stop killing people, please!" Yugi cried, begging him. Atemu walked away, acting like he didn't hear him. "No! Stop! Aibou!" Yugi got to his feet and ran after him. He grabbed him and tried to talk sense into him. "You can break out of Bakura's spell! Please, listen to me! Don't do what he says!"

Atemu pulled his fist back and buried it deep into Yugi's gut, sending him into a world of pain. That punch! It was of uncanny strength. "Yugi!" Anzu was instantly by his side when she saw him coughing up blood. "Yugi! Are you going to be alright?"

Bakura laughed. "No one will be 'alright' when I am reborn, mortal! Muhahahaaaaa!!!" No one except Bakura noticed that Atemu was also in terrible pain as well. The evil dove reprimanded him. "Fool! Save all your hatred for him until after you're restored! I told you both there would be shocking feedback! Now go and feed on more innocent souls! Hurry up!"

Atemu got to his feet in agony and headed off towards the trees. "No...! Other me! Come back! I'm sorry!" Yugi cried, begging him to return. He would let him back in his mind now, thinking doing so would free him from Bakura's spell. He tried to go after him, but he couldn't. His stomach was in too much severe pain to do anything right now. Anzu thought about chasing Atemu, but she didn't want to leave Yugi behind.

She turned to face Bakura. "You monster! How could yo-" She stopped when she realized he wasn't there anymore. That demonic-looking dog creature was gone too. "Yugi, they disappeared!" she told him. It took a while for Yugi to recover. Finally he was able to stand again, but he kept a hand on his stomach. "He got hurt when he hit me..." Yugi said softly, trying to figure it all out. "Yeah, I noticed that too. You two must still be bonded. Like twins." Anzu said, staying close by his side in case he collapsed.

"Maybe if I was in a coma or something like that..." Yugi began, but Anzu knew what he was suggesting. "NO! Yugi, no! Don't you dare! I won't let you get hurt that badly just to stop Atemu! I won't let you!" she cried, getting very upset. How could he even think something like that? She wouldn't want to live if he was in a coma!

Yugi fell silent and that worried Anzu. He might try to do something drastic like that to stop Atemu from killing people. She had to make sure with him that he wouldn't. But then he reassured her.

"Alright, Anzu. I won't do anything to myself to stop him. I promise." he said, making her breathe a sigh of relief. "Maybe Mokuba can help us..." He pulled out his cel phone and called the younger Kaiba. He explained to him what was happening and it got Mokuba into action.

"I'll get Kaiba Corporation's swat team on this to capture Bakura and the Pharaoh." Mokuba told him. "Please don't hurt Atemu! He and I share the same pain, so don't harm him. Even if we weren't linked like that, I still wouldn't want him hurt." Yugi was distraught. Mokuba seemed to understand. "Alright, I'll make sure they don't hurt him. We'll contact you if we get either of them."

Yugi felt a tad assured that Mokuba would help out. Maybe he would be able to catch at least Atemu and then hold him long enough so he could talk some sense into him. Yugi was sure he could break the spell that kept him under evil Bakura's power. "Thanks, Mokuba. I really appreciate your help." Yugi said. Anzu watched him talk when there was a large explosion some distance away in the city. Mokuba heard it as well.

"What was that?! Yugi! Yugi? Is it Bakura again??" Mokuba yelled, getting disturbed. He had to take action now! Anzu pointed towards the now rising smoke. "Isn't that where the Osirus Red School is at??" she cried. Yugi grit his teeth. Yuki! "The students! That school's filled with occupied dorm rooms at this time of day!"

"The red district is under attack?! Yugi! Answer me!" Mokuba yelled again. Yugi confirmed his worries. "Yes, Mokuba! Hurry, send for ambulances and the fire department immediately! I'll try and save the kids before it's too late!"

"Understood!" Mokuba switched his cel phone off and began to call for help. Meanwhile, Yugi and Anzu raced towards the school. Guilty thoughts tried to slow Yugi from his mission, but he pushed them away. The students had to be saved before they were sacrificed for Bakura!

**To be Continued!**


	7. Chapter 7 Beginning of the End

****

No Longer Little Ch. 7

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All Yu-Gi-Oh! characters are copyright of Kazuki Takahashi and Konami.

Author Note: This is a sweet romantic-ish ficcy of Yugi and Anzu (Tea). Anzu goes to New York to start her dancing career but doesn't make it. She falls on hard times with depression and is forced to become a stripper instead to support herself. Too ashamed to contact her friends from high school, she is alone until Yugi finds her about ten years later. No longer is he a "Little Yugi" but rather a Yugi that is like Yami Yugi though even better since he surpassed him years before (see last episodes of the anime and manga). A great ficcy for those who love hetero hardcore romance and Yugi X Anzu lemon stuffs. :) R/R, please no flames! If you don't like Anzu or Yugi, just don't read this then. I don't want hateful reviews / flames from those who don't even like these characters.  
Also see the fic scene fanart piccys for this fic series at my websites:  
**http :// www. alaer art. com** and **http :// alaer. deviant Art. com** (remove all the spaces) Enjoy! ^_^ Zork Necrophelious hikari-light yami-dark aibou-partner berating Karim Lilianne Lily Dawn

**

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**

No Longer Little

Chapter 7

Once the couple got to the burning school, there were fire trucks, police, and medicial personnel with a fleet of ambulances already there. They would not permit Yugi and Anzu to pass. "But this is important! I have to save the students!" Yugi cried, trying to push past. But the police held him back. "We're sorry, Mr. Mutou, but this is a restricted area! We can't even let Seto Kaiba in. You must leave. It's too dangerous for you to stay here. Please let us do our job."

Anzu tugged on Yugi's arm. "Come on, Yugi. We gotta go!" She yanked him away and out of listening distance. She had a plan. "Let's try to get in through the back. Remember how Black Magician and Black Magician Girl saved us from the elevator shaft? Maybe they can help us again!" she suggested. Yugi agreed. "That's a great idea, Anzu! But I'm not sure how to summon them for real. I only know how to do it for the game."

"Maybe we can summon them in our minds?" Anzu supplied, trying to helpful. She wasn't too sure how to make them come out either. Especially not in real life. "Let's hold each card in our hands and wish for them to appear." she said, hoping this would work. Yugi found the cards in his case attached to his belt. They held the cards and wished as hard as they could. Nothing happened.

Anzu felt dumb. She knew Kaiba would scoff at her and tell them both how foolish they looked. "I-I guess it was a stupid idea." she said sadly. Yugi shook his head. "No, it's alright, Anzu. We'll find a way." he said. He figured he might as well summon them like how he did while dueling. He took the Black Magician Girl card from Anzu and held it with the Black Magician card into the air.

"Come forth! Black Magician! Black Magician Girl!" Yugi called out. Again, nothing happened. Yugi sighed. Maybe they imagined those duel monsters saving them back at the elevator shaft. But Yugi knew that couldn't be true. They'd be dead if the duel monsters didn't help them. They had to be real. They were real before back when Dartz tried to take over the world. What happened? Was the duel monster world and human world too far apart now?

"What can we do? Without their help, we can't get in the school to help the students!" Anzu fretted. Yugi worried if the real reason why the duel monsters weren't appearing was because he had banished Atemu from his mind. If that was true, then it was more his fault that the students were suffering, being sacrificed, and killed. Heavy shame fell over him, crushing his spirit. He closed his eyes and within his mind, he saw himself curled into a sorrowful ball of lost hope. All of this was his fault. He was just as to blame as Bakura. He dreaded a terrible thing. What if he was evil? No, that couldn't be true. If he was, he wouldn't care if Bakura killed people to take over the world. He'd help him if he was evil. He'd never help Bakura. No way was Yugi evil! Never ever!

Master, please wake up. We're almost there.

Yugi opened his eyes to find himself flying. Black Magician was carrying him while Black Magician Girl carried Anzu. "How'd you do it, Yugi?" she asked, seemingly to have woken up too. "I don't know. I really don't know." he answered, confused as well. No time to question this good fortune, they had to rescue the students' souls from Bakura!

The duel monsters dropped the two at the sixteenth floor. Master, your test of endurance starts here. Black Magician said solemnly. Yugi tried to ask him what did he mean, but both duel monsters faded from view. Please be careful, Master! Black Magician Girl said, looking very worried. Yugi didn't like this. It was like they knew something really bad was going to happen. Whatever it was, Yugi knew he had to overcome it no matter what.

Strangely enough, the hallways were not filled with smoke despite the burn marks all over the place. The area did not feel hot either. It had an eerie feeling to it. There was a familiar scream down the hallway and to the left. "Lemme go, you crazy white-haired freak!"

"Yuki!" Yugi cried and ran. Anzu followed close behind. The couple went around the corner and saw Bakura holding Yuki in a tight bear hug to prevent him from escaping. "Shut up and give up your soul willingly or else I'll be forced to cut it out of you!" Bakura threatened, putting a knife to the teen's throat. His back was to Yugi.

Yugi charged at them, attempting to free Yuki by knocking over Bakura. But the evil Baku heard him coming and dodged in time. Bakura grinned. "So you came! Have you come to see me slaughter? I didn't know you liked such things, Yugi. Muhahaa!" he teased, his eyes gleaming an evil glow.

"Let him go, Bakura!" Yugi cried, glaring and fists shaking. Bakura threw his head back and laughed. "HAHAA! Do you really think I'd listen to you? Fool!" Suddenly, Bakura clamped his hand over Yuki's mouth so he could suck his soul out of him. Yuki struggled hard, but he was no match for the stronger man. "Give in to the darkness, boy! Give me that soul!" Yuki did all he could to not succumb to the evil dove's powers.

Since Bakura was fairly busy trying to extract Yuki's soul, Yugi charged and knocked him over. Yuki was able to wiggle free and he ran behind Anzu like a scared rabbit. Yugi was fighting to keep the evil Baku under control. "Are you alright, Yuki?!" Yugi yelled. The teen confirmed that he was fine.

Yugi angrily looked at Bakura and expressed his appalled feelings. "Bakura, this **MUST** stop! It's me you want, so stop harming everyone else!"

Bakura laughed like a crazed loon, scaring everyone who heard him. Then with inhuman strength, he threw Yugi towards Anzu and Yuki. They all fell down like bowling pins as Yugi smashed into them. Bakura got up and thrust out a clawed hand at Anzu. He chanted a weird incantation and uttered hateful threat before he blasted her with negative black energy, all in about three seconds.

There was nothing Yugi could do to prevent what was happening. Anzu let out scream of terror and pain as she was engulfed by a dark energy ball. She disappeared pretty much instantly, enraging Yugi so much so he was frozen with fury. Bakura looked towards Yugi and Yuki, eyeing the young teenager directly.

"Now it's your turn!" he shouted evilly, his eyes getting ever more swirly and insane. Laughing, he threw another dark energy attack at Yuki. Yugi reacted then, trying to shove him out.

* * *

**I've had this uncompleted chapter in my archives for years and I've been unable to get past a writer's block to complete it. (My apologies to those who liked this story.)**

**So anyone who cares for this story has my permission to continue it as long as it follows the same basic plot and style as the previous chapters. Please credit me should you adopt this story and let me know. Thank you! :)**


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